The Ascension Trilogy, Book 3: Ressurrection
by Bill K
Summary: Sailor Moon and the senshi must try to rebuild a world crippled by disaster.
1. Picking Up The Pieces

THE ASCENSION TRILOGY,  
  
Book Three: RESSURRECTION  
  
A Sailor Moon Fanfic  
  
By Bill K.  
  
Chapter One: "PICKING UP THE PIECES"  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2003 by Naoko Takeuchi/  
  
Kodansha and Toei Animation, and are used without permission, but with   
  
respect. Story is (c)2003 by Bill Kropfhauser.  
  
As always, for those only familiar with the English dub:  
  
Usagi-Serena  
  
Ami-Amy  
  
Rei-Raye  
  
Lita-Makoto  
  
Mina-Minako  
  
Haruka-Amara  
  
Michiru-Michelle  
  
Setsuna-Trista  
  
Mamoru-Darien  
  
Chibi-Usa-Rini  
  
Finally, Haruka and Michiru are NOT cousins.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"So now what?"  
  
Sailor Venus asked the question that was on everybody's lips,   
  
because she had the courage to face the facts - - and the lack of tact   
  
to be blunt in a delicate situation.  
  
The year was 2015 AD. The Earth had just suffered through a   
  
two-year invasion from another dimension. The invaders had frozen the   
  
planet in a prison of ice. Even the eight sailor senshi and Tuxedo Mask   
  
had fallen victim to the attack one by one until it looked hopeless for   
  
the world. Only the miracle of the silver crystal and the determination   
  
of one solitary woman who was once considered clumsy and a bit of a   
  
crybaby turned the tide. She freed herself after a too long period of   
  
"cold sleep", rescued her friends, destroyed the invaders and with the   
  
aid of her husband and the belief of her friends melted the ice that   
  
choked the planet. To do this she matured from Sailor Moon to Serenity.  
  
The others looked around. The ravages of battle with the Frost   
  
Giants culminating in two years of ice covering the land had effectively   
  
killed most vegetation on the planet. Any animals that didn't survive   
  
in "cold sleep" were gone. Whole species might be extinct. Tokyo was   
  
in ruins, ruination it hadn't seen even in 1945. It could be rebuilt.   
  
The vegetation would grow back. But would the populace starve first?   
  
Sailor Mercury looked to Mars, who looked to Jupiter. Uranus put her   
  
arm around Neptune, as much for reassurance as to protect her. Sailor   
  
Pluto surveyed the destruction with an even sadder look than she usually   
  
possessed. Luna glanced at Artemis with a worried expression and saw   
  
the same doubt reflected in his eyes.  
  
"We start over," they heard Usagi say.   
  
The group looked to her and noticed it again. The regal bearing,   
  
the sense of power and the calm, placid demeanor that by just the merest   
  
hint suggested someone who was now beyond them - - truly she had become   
  
Serenity now. It raised goose bumps on more than one of them.  
  
"Can we?" Jupiter posed. "There's so much destruction and not a   
  
lot in the way of food."  
  
"And any surviving animals that have not already been slaughtered   
  
for food soon will be," Mercury continued the thought, "and it will be   
  
at least four to six months before any crops could be harvested,   
  
assuming they were all planted today."  
  
"Then I'll just have to nudge them," Usagi - - Serenity said. Her   
  
demeanor was so eerily calm and placid that it seemed unearthly. She   
  
clasped her hands before her breast and began to take on a silvery glow,   
  
much the same as when she melted the ice.  
  
"How much do you have left?" Mars interceded, alarmed. "We just   
  
got through melting the ice and there was the final battle before that!"  
  
"I'm well enough to do this," Serenity replied with maddening   
  
calm.  
  
"How well?" demanded Mars. "If you pour every last ounce of   
  
energy you have into making the grass grow, what kind of a trade-off is   
  
that? If you die, where are we then?"  
  
"Where are we now?" Serenity replied.  
  
"Mars is right," Mercury added. "Perhaps it would be prudent if   
  
you rested first, rather than pushing yourself past your endurance."  
  
Serenity bowed her head and smiled gently. "You're only concerned   
  
about me, of course. I greatly appreciate it."  
  
"Here comes the 'but'," growled Mars. Serenity grinned and for a   
  
moment seemed like the Usagi of old.  
  
"I hear the cries, Rei, and I can't turn my back on them," she   
  
responded. "All the sick and injured here in Tokyo and all over the   
  
planet, all the hungry babies and feeble old people, they can't wait for   
  
me to take a nap. Every moment I delay may mean the difference between   
  
someone living or dying." She locked eyes with Mercury. "Of all of us,   
  
you understand that most of all, don't you? That my personal health   
  
must come second to people who need more?"  
  
Mercury scowled. "That's not fair, Usagi."  
  
"I'll do penance later," she said gently.  
  
"Usagi," Venus started to protest, then stopped when she realized   
  
it would do no good. Mars fumed impotently while Jupiter looked on with   
  
worry.  
  
Then Serenity felt hands on her shoulders. She turned and found   
  
her husband behind her.  
  
"Endymion," she began to protest.  
  
"I'm not trying to stop you," he said, gazing deeply into her big   
  
blue eyes. "I just thought you wouldn't mind a little help.  
  
Her mouth formed a wide, grateful smile and she nodded. Endymion   
  
concentrated and began to take on a golden brilliance, much the way   
  
Serenity shone silver. Then the energies merged and surrounded the   
  
couple. They elevated up into the air, each one straight and   
  
motionless.  
  
"Be careful!" Mars called up after them. "If you die, I'll never   
  
forgive you!"  
  
The couple rose to about three hundred meters into the air. The   
  
gaze of all the senshi followed them. Neptune realized she was afraid   
  
and didn't like the feeling. She clung more tightly to Uranus and could   
  
sense the tension in her life mate's body.  
  
A noise captured her ears and she glanced away. Off to her left   
  
was a child of about four, a scarred, battered dark-haired little girl   
  
in tattered clothing. She clung to a woman of about twenty-five or so,   
  
a slight thing who hardly seemed bigger than the child, and cried in   
  
absolute fear and desolation. The woman seemed in shock and hardly   
  
acknowledged the girl. Further down the rubble-strewn street that had   
  
once been the Tenth Street shopping district, Neptune could see other   
  
people. Some were wandering around looking for something that wasn't   
  
destroyed, others for loved ones missing. Still more were fighting over   
  
scraps of food like packs of wild dogs. Neptune felt herself wanting to   
  
cry.  
  
"One wave," she thought. "One 'Deep Submerge' and I could wash   
  
them all away - - end the suffering and the humiliation."  
  
She felt Uranus tighten her grip around her waist and looked up at   
  
her. The sandy blonde's smudged, bruised face looked down at her with   
  
similar despair.  
  
"Do you suppose it's like this all over the world?" Uranus asked.  
  
"Probably," Neptune answered. She looked up at Serenity and   
  
Endymion again. The glow around them was growing. "Do you think they   
  
can make this right? Do they have the power? Does she have the will?"  
  
"She better," mused Uranus. "Otherwise we're cooked."  
  
Serenity and Endymion hovered above the city, their energies   
  
locked and merged together. Serenity's gown seemed to billow, the   
  
ribbons of her hair lightly swaying. Endymion's pastel gray cloak   
  
surged behind him. Their eyes were closed and they remained motionless.   
  
The only clue that they were still alive at all was the glow around   
  
them, which continued to grow.  
  
Several of the senshi heard the rustle of broken cement and brick   
  
under footsteps and turned to the sound. A civilian approached them.   
  
He was scuffed and bruised, as were they all, and walked gingerly from   
  
an injury to his right leg, but he walked toward them with purpose and   
  
without trepidation. The man was around thirty with the squat body and   
  
round face of a businessman. He was missing the thick-rimmed glasses   
  
that seemed so much of the stereotype - - they had probably been broken.   
  
His thinning black hair fell haphazardly across his forehead and, under   
  
the dirt and sweat and bruising he had a face that was pleasant. Venus  
  
noticed how much he resembled her own father when she was a little girl,  
  
and suddenly wondered if her father was still alive. Then she felt   
  
guilty for not thinking of the question sooner. When the man reached a   
  
spot five feet from the group, he stopped.  
  
"Forgive my impertinence," he said in a rough voice, "but do you   
  
think you could do something to help a few of these less fortunate?"   
  
His request was audacious, but he showed no sign of arrogance or   
  
belligerence. Still, his query didn't set well with several of the   
  
senshi.  
  
"We are helping!" snapped Mars. Uranus also glared at him.  
  
"Well," he replied, unconcerned with Mars' hostility, "they're   
  
helping." He pointed up to Serenity and Endymion. "The rest of you   
  
seem to be waiting for their return."  
  
Uranus seemed ready to lunge at him, when unexpectedly Pluto   
  
interceded. She blocked her fellow outer senshi's path and allowed   
  
Neptune to get a grip on the woman. All the while she kept her gaze on   
  
the stranger.  
  
"What would you have us do?" she asked.  
  
"Well I and several of my colleagues are looking for injured and   
  
treating them as best we can." He glanced back at several people   
  
fighting over a cache of food. "Perhaps some of you could help us out   
  
with a little crowd control. There are many desperate people out there   
  
and sadly they have reverted to their baser instincts."  
  
"Beats standing around here and feeling sorry for myself," Venus   
  
replied. She nudged Jupiter's shoulder. "And it'll do you some good,   
  
too - - keep you from worrying about your husband and kids."  
  
"How do you know that's what I'm thinking about?" bristled   
  
Jupiter.  
  
"What else would you be thinking about?" Venus grinned in that   
  
maddeningly audacious way she had. "Come on. You know the old saying:   
  
No rest for the wicker."  
  
"That's 'wicked'," Jupiter replied.  
  
"I know, isn't it?" grinned Venus, oblivious to being corrected.   
  
Jupiter rolled her eyes and the pair headed off to stop the fight.  
  
"I'm a doctor," Mercury said to the stranger. "Can I help you   
  
with the injured?"  
  
"You certainly can!" grinned the man, a grin that communicated he   
  
had experienced the first sign of hope in quite a while. "All I know   
  
about medicine is a little first aid I learned in college!"  
  
"I will aid you as well," Pluto said, then added, "though I must   
  
warn you that my medical skills are quite limited."  
  
"I am most grateful," he replied, flashing that hopeful grin   
  
again. "It is said that many hands are better than one."  
  
"Don't underestimate your medical skills," Mercury told Pluto.   
  
"You did a fine job," then caught herself, "um, previously."  
  
"With Janus," Pluto scowled, finishing the thought. Mercury   
  
grimaced.  
  
As she watched them walk off, Neptune felt Uranus tense again.   
  
She looked up at her.  
  
"Do you sense it?" Uranus whispered.   
  
Neptune cleared her mind.  
  
"Something's approaching Earth," Neptune replied. "More trouble?"  
  
"Maybe. Should we get Pluto?"  
  
"Let's find out what it is, first," Neptune concluded. "If it's   
  
nothing, Pluto's needed more here." Moving to look at Mars, she found   
  
the senshi staring worriedly up at Serenity and Endymion. "Mars,   
  
we're," she began, "going to see if we can help out. What about you?"  
  
"I'm staying right here," she replied, her gaze never leaving   
  
Serenity. "Someone needs to stay here. I'm still worried that she's   
  
trying to do too much too soon."  
  
"We all have our life's missions," Neptune replied with a wry   
  
smile. She noticed Mars flush slightly before she and Uranus moved off.  
  
As Mercury climbed through the broken portions of the city, she   
  
noticed Pluto easily kept pace with the stranger. She attributed it to   
  
Pluto's longer legs and pined, for a moment, to be as tall as her   
  
friend. Then she dismissed it from her mind as a waste of thought   
  
energy.  
  
"I am," Pluto began to introduce herself to the stranger.  
  
"Everybody knows who you are," he replied. "As many times as   
  
you've all saved this city, a person would either have to be stupid or   
  
not care not to know you. I don't think I'm stupid and I've never been   
  
accused of not caring quite yet." He looked up at her and found her   
  
mild astonishment pleasant. "Sailor Uranus, correct?"  
  
The corners of Pluto's mouth turned up. "Actually, it is Sailor   
  
Pluto."  
  
Her companion grinned at his error - - he seemed to grin easily,   
  
even in the midst of tragedy.   
  
"Forgive me," he bowed. "I pray you don't take insult at my   
  
error. I'm pleased to meet you just the same."  
  
"And you are?"  
  
"I am Kazuhiko Tomimura." He leaned in as they walked. "This   
  
isn't what I imagined my life to be when I graduated college.   
  
Truthfully, it isn't what I imagined it to be when I left for work this   
  
morning." Clearly he hadn't realized that nearly two years had passed.   
  
Then he was struck suddenly by a thought. "My wife! I have no idea   
  
whether she's alive!" He started to pull out a cellphone, even though   
  
it was unlikely service was still active.  
  
"Over here!" they heard Mercury call. She was easing a man   
  
against what was left of a wall, trying to support him so he didn't hit   
  
the ground hard as he sagged. Tomimura and Pluto ran over to them.  
  
"Relax," Tomimura said, steadying him so Mercury would be free to   
  
minister to his injuries. "I have you."  
  
He was an older man, about early fifties. His skin was blotchy   
  
and cold, no doubt from being frozen. Possibly he was one of the last   
  
thawed. He seemed week and incoherent, mumbling something none of them   
  
could understand. Mercury peered at him with intense detachment.  
  
"Can you tell me where it hurts?" she asked as her fingers felt   
  
for a pulse. He responded with more mumblings. One of the words   
  
sounded like 'the ice'. Mercury pulled his heavy, drooping eyelid back   
  
and looked at his pupil. "There's no sign of concussion or head trauma.   
  
It must be shock, possibly compounded by mild hypothermia." She turned   
  
to the others. "We must find something to cover him with. He needs to   
  
conserve body heat."  
  
Tomimura and Pluto were up instantly, searching around them for   
  
something. Pluto's eyes locked onto the torn canvas awning of what had   
  
been The Sweet Shop. She ran over and tried to tug it loose, but it was   
  
pinned under the collapsed front of the store.  
  
"Here," the man said, gripping the canvas next to her hands.   
  
"Four hands are better than two." Together they pulled, but couldn't   
  
dislodge it. "Again I'm wrong. It would take a hoist and cable to pull   
  
that free."  
  
"Stand back," Pluto said, her forearm gently pushing Tomimura   
  
aside. When he was clear, she lifted her staff and pointed it at the   
  
pile of rubble. "Dead Scream."  
  
The sonic blast from her staff struck the rubble, sending it   
  
scattering in all directions. The remaining structure of The Sweet Shop   
  
shook and threatened to collapse, but quieted. Pluto walked over and   
  
gathered up the canvas.  
  
"You're more formidable than I imagined," Tomimura marveled,   
  
trailing behind her.  
  
Pluto frowned, recalling similar words coming out of the mouth of   
  
Janus. She found the memories conjured up to now be unpleasant.  
  
Reaching the shivering old man, Pluto and Mercury wrapped the   
  
canvas around him. He sagged weakly back against the wall and gasped   
  
out his breath.  
  
"Will he be all right?" Pluto asked.  
  
"Without proper medical supplies, it's all we can do," Mercury   
  
told her. "If I had a sedative, I'd give it to him."  
  
At once, the three people felt a tremendous warmth flow over their   
  
bodies. As one they turned and looked up in the sky. Above them,   
  
glowing like a miniature sun, were Serenity and Endymion. They bathed   
  
the entire city in their glow. Suddenly Mercury's fatigue was gone.   
  
Suddenly Pluto felt reinvigorated. Suddenly the stiffness in Tomimura's   
  
leg disappeared. Suddenly the old man stopped shivering and breathed   
  
more easily.  
  
Mercury and Pluto rose to their feet. They took several steps   
  
forward unconsciously, as if compelled by some inner voice to move   
  
closer to the glow. They were not alone. Tomimura was behind them and   
  
behind him were other survivors. All those who could walk had calmed   
  
and were moving toward the source of the glow.  
  
Directly beneath them, Sailor Mars, Luna and Artemis stood and   
  
watched and waited.  
  
"Do you feel it?" Artemis asked. "The energy they're giving off   
  
is healing everyone."  
  
"Yes," Luna smiled. "I haven't felt this alive since before the   
  
Frost Giants came!"  
  
"She can't keep it up," whispered Mars. Her hands were folded to   
  
her mouth and she chewed on a knuckle. Luna looked up at her with   
  
concern.  
  
"Are you quite certain?" the black cat asked.  
  
"In spite of everything I've been through, my second sight is as   
  
strong as ever," Mars replied, not taking her eyes off the couple above   
  
her. "She's barely hanging on."  
  
Pluto suddenly lurched to a stop. "Look," she said, gesturing   
  
around them. Tomimura and Mercury reluctantly looked away from the sky.  
  
Trees were sprouting through the cracked pavement of Tenth Street.   
  
Pluto knelt down to a sapling already three feet high.  
  
"It's a fruit tree," she said, examining it. "And it seems to be   
  
growing at about an inch every ten seconds.  
  
Casting her gaze down the street, Pluto could see other trees   
  
sprouting amid the rubble of streets, sidewalks and storefronts. Other   
  
plants as well were growing and flowering, taking over the streets and   
  
the shells of buildings. As a seedling would bloom new flowers, hungry   
  
insects gathered around and renewed their role in the cycle of life.   
  
Pluto could see the park teeming with rice near the pond and in the huge   
  
gouge that had filled with dirt and water, the gouge that had once been   
  
a playground. Tendrils she recognized as sweet potatoes sprang up amid   
  
the grass and across the bike paths.   
  
"Impossible," she heard Tomimura whisper. "It's as if the gods   
  
walk the Earth."   
  
By now all the populace in the area had seen the miracle. The   
  
scarred, broken sections of the city had grown over green and precious   
  
fruit and vegetables ripened before their eyes. With a joy and relief   
  
that was palpable, they plucked the treasures and ravenously downed   
  
them. Salvation was here.  
  
"She never ceases to amaze me," Mercury said to Pluto with a grin.   
  
Pluto smiled in return, then reached up and plucked two apples, handing   
  
one to her fellow senshi. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" Mercury   
  
grinned and bit into the fruit, more quickly than she wished to from the   
  
look of the red in her cheeks.  
  
"Is it all right if I give some to the old man?" Tomimura asked,   
  
holding a core in one hand and two apples in the other.  
  
"Let's wait a bit," Mercury advised. "I want to be sure his   
  
condition has stabilized."  
  
Just then Luna came running up to them. "Mercury! Come quickly!"   
  
the cat gasped. "It's Serenity!"  
  
Mercury paused just long enough for her stomach to stop flopping,   
  
then took off after the cat, Pluto in hot pursuit.  
  
They arrived at the spot where they had left Mars. Artemis was   
  
staring up at the sky. Mars was on her knees weeping. Though they   
  
didn't want to, Mercury and Pluto looked up.  
  
Descending slowly from the sky was Endymion, his cloak fluttering   
  
in the breeze like a flag at half-staff. Held in his arms was the limp   
  
form of Serenity.  
  
Continued in Chapter 2 


	2. The Waiting Game

RESSURRECTION  
  
Chapter 2: "The Waiting Game"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
"How's she doing?"  
  
Jupiter popped her head into the room, unwilling to enter all the way lest she seem pushy and yet so concerned about her friend that she couldn't wait for word elsewhere.  
  
After Endymion returned from the sky with the limp, unconscious Serenity, her friends had acted quickly. The intact remains of a business was found and taken over by the senshi as a shelter for Serenity.   
  
A cot had been rescued from what was left of an emergency shelter. Ami stood over the cot where Serenity lay, bending down and examining her patient. To the right of the cot, Endymion sat cross-legged on a mat. His hand held Serenity's and a golden glow faintly colored them both. He sat motionless, save for the rise and fall of his chest, seemingly in a trance.  
  
To the left of the cot, Rei knelt on another mat. She was dressed in a blouse and slacks. These weren't what she usually wore when praying, but her priestess robes had long been consumed by the disaster. Her outfit was still whole and clean, a remarkable sight these days. It was that way because it had been what Rei had been wearing when she transformed to Sailor Mars before the final attack of the Frost Giants of Knorr and it escaped the destruction of that attack. The woman was absorbed in prayer, though the stress of her efforts was beginning to show on her face.  
  
"She'll be fine," Endymion said distantly.  
  
"I'll be the judge of that," Ami replied curtly.   
  
Rei kept praying.  
  
"She is going to be all right, isn't she?" Jupiter asked anxiously.  
  
"I'm doing the best I can!" Ami said sharply. She felt Serenity's pulse again. "Although I don't know how much good that is! I have no vital sign monitors, no drugs - - I don't even have a stethoscope! I know how to help her, but I don't have the tools!" Her hands clasped together in front of her, the knuckles white from the pressure.  
  
"Well, maybe we can salvage something from a hospital or something?" Jupiter offered.  
  
"And power it how?" snapped Ami. "The utilities are still down! They're not coming back for a while, possibly not ever if Serenity doesn't get better! You can't run sophisticated cardio-pulmonary equipment without electricity!"  
  
"Well, if it's electricity . . .!"  
  
"No, Jupiter," Ami sighed with fatigue. "One of your lightning strikes would be direct current. It would probably fuse the machine's circuitry. It needs alternating current to operate and that's something you can't provide." Ami looked away in frustration.  
  
"Come on! You'll do it!" Jupiter said encouragingly.  
  
"Jupiter, the only thing that's keeping her alive right now is Endymion! All I'm doing is sitting here watching her die!"  
  
"Hey!" Jupiter said. She came up behind Ami and began massaging her shoulders. "I know you're frustrated and I know you're scared. Don't give into it."  
  
"But we've been through so much in the last two years. All the time we've spent fighting, all the people we've lost, all the suffering can't amount to this! She can't die now, not after everything we've been through!"  
  
"She won't die," Endymion said. "I won't let her."  
  
"See," Jupiter smiled timidly.  
  
"That's fine as far as it goes. But he's not curing her. He's just keeping her alive. How long can he keep that up?"  
  
"As long as there's breath in my body," Endymion whispered, not letting his concentration slip.  
  
"Well unless there's some change in her, that will just mean we're going to lose you both!"  
  
"Well she can have anything I've got, if it'll help," Jupiter volunteered. "You can take everything if it saves her - - and I'll bet there'll be others who'll make the same offer."  
  
Ami looked away. "If it comes to that. We're not to that point yet."  
  
At that point, Rei slumped to the floor. Ami crossed over to her and knelt down next to her. She could hear Rei mumbling, "Told her not to do too much . . ." as she examined her.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Jupiter asked.  
  
"I think she's just fainted from exhaustion," Ami murmured. "Let her sleep. If she hasn't said enough prayers by now, then that means the gods aren't listening."  
  
"Sure," Jupiter grinned. "So what do I tell the people outside?"  
  
"Who's outside?" Ami asked.  
  
"Have you been outside at all?" Ami just shook her head. "There's hundreds of people out there just waiting for word about how Usagi is. They saw what she did and felt the energy she and Endymion used to make the plants grow. I recognize a few faces, but most of them are perfect strangers."  
  
"So what do they want with her?" Ami asked, sighing with fatigue. "Another miracle?"  
  
"Eventually," shrugged Jupiter. "Right now, I think they just want to know that she'll be all right. Because I think they all realize that she's probably our only hope right now."  
  
Ami bowed her head, seeming to be on the verge of tears. Then she summoned a reserve of strength from somewhere and pushed the emotions down.  
  
"Tell them she's still alive," Ami said. "Tell them - - we're doing all we can."  
  
Outside, Sailor Pluto watched the crowd. Occasionally her gaze would shift to Venus guarding the door to the shelter. Venus was good at concealing the concern she felt for the princess, as good as she was at concealing the fatigue she felt. The woman was far better at it than Pluto was. Her limbs felt as heavy as her heart did right now and she had neither the strength nor the inclination to conceal it.  
  
An older man walked up to them. It took Pluto a moment to recognize him as the shock victim she and Ami had helped.   
  
"Ah, I have found you," the man said and bowed to them both. "Thank you for helping me earlier. I am deeply in your debt."  
  
"I am glad to see you up and around, Honored Sir," Pluto replied. "Are you feeling better?"  
  
"As well as anyone else," he replied. "I fear none of us will be perfectly well for a great while." The old man sighed. "I remember the tales my grandfather told me of life in Hiroshima and the hardships they faced. I thought, in my youthful arrogance, that I understood what he was saying. But it seems only now do I truly understand." He seemed to want to say more, but hesitated.  
  
"Did you wish something else of us, honored sir?" Pluto asked.  
  
"Forgive me. I merely wished to offer what little I had to aid in the recovery of Sailor Moon." He looked down. "I have thought a great deal about death and dying during - - whatever period of time that has past. I am grateful for my life, understand. But there are others clearly more important than I am. If a sacrifice is needed, please let me be the one to make it, rather than someone such as her - - someone far more important to everyone."  
  
"And what makes you believe that you are not important?" Pluto asked, staring at him with eyes that saw him, and yet did not. For a moment, the old man was taken aback. "Believe me, Honored Sir, when I tell you that I may see things that others cannot. I have seen how important you can be, should you not surrender to the despair that surrounds us. You play a vital role in life, far more vital than you grasp. We appreciate your gesture, but I would prefer that you live."   
  
The old man looked at Pluto, unsure as to how to take her pronouncement. He understood what she said, but not how she could know it. Pluto only looked at him with a placid demeanor, peacefully awaiting any response he might make. At length, the old man bowed to Sailor Pluto and moved off. She turned and caught Venus staring at her with much the same wonder that the old man had.  
  
"You know," Venus scowled warily, "any more, you're as spooky as Serenity.""You will come to understand," Pluto replied cryptically, "in time."  
  
* * * *  
  
In a secluded spot by the waterfront, amid the dark hulks of collapsed warehouses and the harbor cluttered with broken and useless ships, Sailor Uranus stood guard. She would alternately scan the sky and the area around them. The latter was to guard against any refugee desperate or greedy enough to attack them. The former was to guard against any possibly threat from space. To accomplish this, her Space Sword was drawn and ready.  
  
While Uranus stood guard, Sailor Neptune selected a spot along the wharf that was in perfect harmony between the land, the sea and the air. She set aside the sea's soft lament for all the bodies within it and for all the desolation on land and summoned the Deep Aqua Mirror. Focusing her consciousness on the mirror, she used it to probe into the heavens.   
  
Long moments passed. Neptune remained silent, focusing on the mirror, searching through it for the truth. Uranus stood guard, her already thin patience unraveling with the passage of every second. She glanced back at Neptune. The senshi clutched the mirror with both hands, staring into its face with glassy eyes and slightly parted lips. Uranus wanted to speak, but held her tongue. Forcing herself to look away, she scanned the area again for possible threat.  
  
A sound to her left made her turn. However, it was just a rat skittering along the edge of the dark warehouse. From the matting of its coat and the rodent's gaunt look, it had fared little better than they had. Already the blessing of Serenity and Endymion's energy was wearing off and the tangle of vegetation it had wrought hadn't made it to the docks. Uranus felt her stomach growl. Mentally she growled back.  
  
"Uranus?" Neptune said and her partner turned to her. "I'm not finding anything."  
  
"I'm not hallucinating this," Uranus protested. "I'm not that far gone."  
  
"I know you're not. I feel it, too. I'm surprised Pluto hasn't. But I can't find anything with the mirror."  
  
"Could it be capable of hiding itself from the Deep Aqua Mirror?" Uranus asked.  
  
"Why not? It's a big universe," Neptune replied, her lips thinning. "But that presents two questions: Why, and how powerful an entity is this if it can conceal itself from the mirror? Could even the Frost Giants do that?"  
  
"Those are two questions I don't like the answers to," Uranus said.  
  
Neptune nodded. Then, suddenly, she stared into the mirror in shock.  
  
"What is it?" hissed Uranus. "What do you see?"  
  
Neptune's face only hardened into a scowl. "We need to get to Usagi's side."  
  
* * * *  
  
Sailor Jupiter walked up to Sailor Venus and tossed her an orange. Venus, who was still guarding the door to the building where Serenity lay, caught it numbly. She stared at it for a few moments before she remembered it was to eat.  
  
"Why don't you take a nap," Jupiter suggested. "I'll stand watch."  
  
"What makes you think I need a nap?" Venus groused as she forced open the orange with her thumbs.  
  
"Remember the zombies in all those horror movies you used to drag us all to?" Jupiter said. Venus nodded. "The way you look right now, you'd frighten them."  
  
"I'm all right," Venus frowned, shoving the orange wedge into her mouth.  
  
Jupiter stared, concerned. Venus hadn't risen to the bait. That meant she was really tired. Rather than argue, though, Jupiter peeked in through the door. Venus could be very stubborn when she was like this and Jupiter knew she'd have to wear the woman down through subtle cajoling. Momentarily breaking the tension, she peeked in the door again.  
  
Inside the room, Endymion maintained his life support of Serenity. Rei still slept on the floor while Ami dozed in a chair. It tore Jupiter up to see Serenity like that, knowing there was nothing she could do.  
  
"You'd think these gawkers would go home by now," mumbled Venus between bites.   
  
"Go home to what?" Jupiter replied, closing the door. "There isn't a lot left in this city to go home to. Besides, I bet a lot of them figure their best chance is to be as close to Serenity as possible." Jupiter shook her head. "Man, I just can't get used to calling her that. But it's obvious she's not Usagi anymore. She's just so . . ."  
  
"Would 'spooky' be the word you're looking for?" Venus asked, staring out into the crowd as she chewed on the orange.  
  
"No," Jupiter said, her eyes narrowing. "Do you have a problem with what she's become?"  
  
"Her extra firepower, no." Venus turned and faced Jupiter for the first time. "But haven't you noticed the way she acts and the way she carries herself ever since she 'evolved' to her Serenity level? It's almost like she's not human anymore - - like she's above us." Venusmade a non-committal shrug. "Maybe she is. Endymion's the same way."  
  
"Jealous?"  
  
"Me? No." Then Venus shrugged. "OK, maybe just a little. I don't resent her. It's just - - I'm wondering if she'll want to hang out with us now - - if we're beneath her. I'm going to miss those Saturday shopping trips."  
  
"And the birthday parties she'd throw for us," smiled Jupiter.  
  
"And how she could never keep them secret, no matter how hard she tried."  
  
"And the little cards and gifts she would give you, right at the precise moment you were feeling down - - like she knew."  
  
Venus sighed in resignation.  
  
"One flaw in your thinking, though," Jupiter continued. Venus looked at her, intrigued. "You're assuming those days are over. She may be Serenity on the outside, but I'm willing to bet that Usagi's still inside. And we'll see it when she gets a chance to relax. She just hasn't had the chance yet."  
  
"You are an incorrigible optimist," Venus replied, then downed the last of the orange. "Here's to incorrigible optimism." Venus smacked her lips. "Either I'm really hungry or that was one tasty orange."  
  
"Serenity made it," grinned Jupiter, "so you know it was made with love."  
  
The two friends stood there silently, guarding the entrance to where Serenity lay. They surveyed the crowd that stubbornly stayed nearby. The people all seemed blank shells of human beings. They seemed to be waiting for something. Whether they were waiting for another miracle from Serenity or just waiting to die was hard to tell. Venus dropped her gaze. It was hard looking at them. It was hard enough seeing the doubt and fear in the eyes of her friends and wondering if it was mirrored in her own. It was torture watching all these people wander around aimlessly, robbed even of their humanity by their circumstances.  
  
And then she wondered if she'd ever regain her life. Was the fifteen years of work and sweat, trial and error, rejection and humiliation she'd invested in becoming a star now down the drain? Was she doomed to being another face in the crowd for the rest of her life? Was she to never again sample the sweet nectar of the spotlight and the adulation that came with it? Venus noticed a smudge of dirt on her glove and brushed at it, suddenly wishing she could be home soaking in a hot bath.  
  
She looked up at Jupiter and noticed the woman's worried, faraway look. The senshi suddenly felt very small for what she had just been thinking.  
  
"Why don't you go look for them," Venus said gently. Jupiter turned to her, surprised and confused by the blonde woman's statement. "Sanjuro and the kids. I can tell you're worried about them."  
  
"I've already got a job," Jupiter replied tightly.  
  
"We can handle it."  
  
"She could be dead any moment," Jupiter said, her fear lingering just below the surface. "If she needs me and I'm not here, I'm not just shirking my duty, I may be dooming everyone! I hate it, but I can't look for them right now."  
  
Venus looked on with sympathy.  
  
"And San-san knows that," Jupiter whispered, her words as much for her own fears as for Venus. "He's taking care of them. He won't let anything happen to them." Jupiter let loose a nervous laugh. "When Serenity's back, I'll go look for them, and they'll probably be at the restaurant waiting for me."   
  
Then a trickling tear betrayed Jupiter. She bowed her head, struggling to get hold of her emotions again. Venus closed the gap between them instantly and gripped Jupiter's shoulder. The lanky senshi seemed to sag gratefully against her friend.  
  
"Besides," Jupiter said hoarsely, "I don't see you running out to look for Toshihiro."  
  
"I'm not worried," Venus replied with a shadow of her normal jaunty self. "Toshi's too much of a creep to die. Besides, if he dies, ten percent of his agent has to die, too, so Hiroki'll make sure he survives."  
  
Jupiter giggled through her tears despite herself. That eased Venus's spirits and the emotional crisis seemed to pass.  
  
"It's Ichiro I worry about the most," Jupiter mumbled as she wiped a tear away. "He's so young and so easily intimidated by so many things. Just making it through this alive may not be enough. This is going to scar him. I just know it! And Akiko - - she talks tough, but she's just a baby, too."  
  
"Well that's your fault for letting them out of the womb," Venus jabbed.  
  
Jupiter shot the blonde an evil glare. Then the end of her mouth curled.   
  
"You still have no class," Jupiter muttered.  
  
The movement of feet on rubble caught their attention. Venus and Jupiter turned to the sound and saw Uranus and Neptune running up.  
  
"Trouble?" Jupiter asked. Venus tensed for action.  
  
"Company's coming," Uranus replied, then gestured to the heavens. "From up there."  
  
"Aliens?" gasped Venus. "Or more Frost Giants?" Several of the gathered survivors heard her and panic began to spread through the crowd.  
  
"No," was all Neptune got to utter.   
  
Above them all came a brilliant red light. It seemed to burn like a fireball, yet traveled in a controlled pattern at a controlled speed. The gathered survivors fell back, many running for their lives in blind fear. The four senshi spread out and assumed defensive positions, prepared to ward off any new threat with their lives.  
  
The fireball gently set down on the rubble-strewn street. It flared brilliantly, causing all that watched it to shield their eyes, then died away. Two figures emerged. Their vision recovered, Venus and Jupiter looked and saw Sailor Star Fighter standing protectively before Princess Kakyuu. With an elegance of movement that put the word 'graceful' to shame, the Princess glided up to the four senshi.  
  
"It pleases me that we meet again," she said, bowing to them with humble deference, "though I am saddened by the circumstances. If I may be so bold as to make a request, would you please conduct me to Princess Serenity?"  
  
Continued in part 3 


	3. Fireball

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 3: "Fireball"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
"What do you want with her?"   
  
The gruffness of the challenge Sailor Uranus made to Princess Kakyuu surprised both Jupiter and Venus. It surprised the surviving citizens of Tokyo that had been gathered waiting word on the condition of Sailor Moon. They were just now cautiously emerging from cover to see who the new people were. Anxiety rippled through the crowd as fears of a new confrontation so soon after defeating the "Ice Devils", as their last enemy had become known as, mounted. Her tone surprised Sailor Star Fighter and the tall, rail-thin woman started belligerently forward, her long, fine black hair twitching behind her like the great mane of a horse.  
  
But Princess Kakyuu moved her hand out and blocked Star Fighter's path. The senshi obediently stopped, but turned angrily to her princess.  
  
"Her tone belittles you!" protested Star Fighter. "And I can see the suspicion in her and her partner's eyes! It's an insult!"  
  
"Only if taken as such, Star Fighter," Princess Kakyuu said in the gentlest of tones. Betraying no malice, as if she was incapable of it, she turned to her senshi. "They guard their princess the best way they see fit. We must not begrudge them this, for they do their duty with honor."  
  
When Star Fighter relaxed reluctantly, Kakyuu turned back to Uranus and Neptune and gave them both a disarmingly placid smile.   
  
"I am aware," she said, "of the recent ascension of Princess Serenity. I am also aware of the trouble your planet faces and of the distress Princess Serenity is in. I may be of some assistance to her and to you. I humbly ask you to permit this."  
  
And she bowed to them. Uranus was completely taken aback and Neptune seemed surprised as well. Princess Kakyuu waited patiently for their permission, even though both got the sense she could blow past them if she chose. Then Jupiter and Venus moved into the picture.  
  
"I think we can trust them," Jupiter said, with more of an edge to her voice than she wanted to show, for this was an old wound between her and these two outer senshi and she didn't want to reopen it. "Besides, it's Usagi's life in the balance. Do we have a choice?"  
  
As always, Uranus deferred to Neptune. Neptune was still suspicious, but her expression of frustration told them she was looking for alternatives and not finding them.  
  
"All right," Neptune grimaced and stepped from Kakyuu's path. "I apologize if we insulted you."  
  
"I accept with gratitude," Kakyuu replied, bowing again. "Come, Star Fighter."   
  
Princess Kakyuu glided through the door. Uranus and Star Fighter exchanged glares as she passed, for there were old wounds between them as well. But as Star Fighter neared the door, Uranus noted the woman's glare turn to an expression of dread. Was she dreading seeing Serenity near death? Or was she just dreading seeing Serenity?  
  
Inside the room, Endymion looked up and saw Princess Kakyuu. He tensed until he saw Venus and Jupiter with her and Star Fighter. Through his fatigue he recalled his brief meeting with Princess Kakyuu after the conflict with Sailor Galaxia. He recalled Sailor Star Fighter, too. There was a brief, neutral moment of eye contact betweenthe pair. Then Kakyuu passed into his view.   
  
"You have been keeping her alive through your bond," Princess Kakyuu said - - it wasn't a question.   
  
"Yeah," Venus began, "Sailor Moon - - Serenity - - she tried to grow all the vegetation in the world back to feed everyone," and she swallowed down her emotions, "and I guess she overdid it."  
  
"I am aware of this, too," Kakyuu replied gently.  
  
She glided over to Serenity's side. Her aura jolted Ami and Rei and they both awoke with a start. Lightly she touched her hand to Serenity's forehead.  
  
"She has pushed herself far beyond even her newly expanded ability," Kakyuu pronounced softly and everyone in the room, even Star Fighter, seemed to tense at the words. "Limitations are often a hard lesson to learn, particularly at times such as these."  
  
"Can you help her?" Jupiter asked.  
  
"Yes," Kakyuu smiled gently. "I shall add my energies to those of her life mate's and together we shall fan the flame of her existence."  
  
"But Princess," Star Fighter asked, concerned. "The danger to you. . ."  
  
"Is inconsequential," Princess Kakyuu replied. "She will live, dear Star Fighter, for she must. Any threat to me, however much remote, is secondary."  
  
Princess Kakyuu closed her eyes. A fire red energy enveloped her body.  
  
Outside Uranus and Neptune stood guard over the door. Neptune watched her lover channel her concern and frustration over Serenity's condition into nervous glances at the people crowding closer and closer for some sign that the woman who had saved them would be all right. She could tell Uranus wanted to be inside by Usagi's side, but knew her duty and remained on guard. It was a feeling she shared - - though she dealt with it better than Haruka did.  
  
Neptune watched Uranus lock her gaze onto a woman in the foreground. The woman began gently sobbing and keening - - and Uranus snapped.  
  
"What are you people all standing around here for?" Uranus bellowed at them. "Are you waiting for her to give you another miracle? The first one nearly killed her! There are other people around Tokyo who still need help! Go help them! Go do something with your lives besides stand here and wallow in your own self-pity!"  
  
"Uranus," Neptune said softly, touching the woman on the arm to try to reel her back in.   
  
"Am I being too blunt?" Uranus snapped bitterly.   
  
"They've been through a trauma," Neptune said.  
  
"OK, they've been through a trauma! I'm sorry the trauma ripped them out of their safe, cozy little lives, but the trauma's over and they're alive! Now it's time to rebuild - - help the others who are worse off!" She turned back to the crowd. "Not stand around like a bunch of sheep waiting for someone to lead them around or promise them that they'll get their safe little lives back again!"  
  
Some of the crowd began to move off. Others stayed put. Uranus noticed one of them was the woman who had been sobbing. She was a slight thing, bruised and tattered and dirty with unkempt black hair and a young face.  
  
"Well?" Uranus barked.  
  
"Not until I know she'll be all right," the woman said, maintaining her keening. "Because if she dies, nothing else matters."  
  
Uranus was about to reply when a hand touched her arm. She turned to it, expecting Neptune.  
  
"Please, Uranus," Serenity said gently, appealing to her friend's better nature. "She's only concerned."  
  
"Serenity!" Uranus gasped. Then her shock changed to elation. "You made it!"  
  
Before Serenity could reply, the woman was at her feet. She wrapped her arms around Serenity's right ankle and hugged tight.  
  
"Thank you!" she sobbed. "Thank you for not leaving us! Thank you!"  
  
Serenity knelt down and touched the woman's shoulder. The woman looked up at the blue eyes of charity and hope.  
  
"Thank you for your concern," Serenity said with a hopeful smile. "But there are many more out there much worse off than I. Perhaps we need to help them now."  
  
Serenity rose to her feet and faced the crowd. She straightened and closed her eyes. Suddenly everyone could hear her voice in his or her mind.   
  
"People of Tokyo," she thought and everyone heard. "People of the world. This is - - Serenity. We face a daunting task. Much of our city - - much of the world - - lies in ruins. For most of you, the simple matter of finding food or medical attention seems an impossible task. I will try to help as much as my power will allow me. But I can do so much more with your help. Many hands working together can accomplish far more than can one person, even one such as I. Will you help me? Together we can rebuild our world."  
  
Her shoulders sagged a little when she was done. Amid cheers and cries of ascension from the gathered crowd, she put her hand to her temple. Instantly Uranus and Neptune were beside her.  
  
"Are you all right?" Neptune asked.  
  
"Yes," Serenity smiled contritely, almost like the Usagi of old. "I'm trying to learn to pace myself. This is still all so new to me."  
  
"You'll do it," Neptune replied, then hesitated a beat, "Serenity." It seemed to everyone that she was almost going to say 'Usagi'. Serenity's face flashed melancholy for a second, and then she touched their hands.  
  
"You must both be exhausted," she smiled charitably. "Please, get some food and rest. I'm in good hands."  
  
"All right," Neptune nodded uncertainly. Reluctantly she and Uranus moved off.  
  
Serenity returned inside. She found Endymion sitting where he had been since this began, sleeping. A timid smile crept onto her face. In spite of everything that had happened and all the growing they'd done in twenty years, he still looked like a sweet little boy when he slept.  
  
Jupiter was forcing Ami to eat. That elicited a grin from her. Venus was next to - - was it really Sailor Star Fighter? It had been so long and yet she seemed unchanged.   
  
Then she noticed that Rei had noticed her entrance. And the look on Rei's face: concern for her, and something else - - a distance between them, a distance Rei sensed and seemed confused as to how to bridge. And instantly she sensed that Serenity had sensed it and glanced away uncomfortably. The others seemed to be taking their cues from Rei. The tension in the room seemed like a thing alive. Serenity just couldn't take it any longer and left the same way she came in.  
  
Outside, Serenity avoided the stragglers from the crowd that still lingered for want of anyplace else to go. She glided around to the back of the building. It was relatively free of debris and just dark enough to suit her. Serenity leaned back against the wall and looked down. The tears came, softly at first, but eventually betrayed by dainty sniffles.  
  
"The path ahead of you is indeed daunting," a voice whispered behind her. Serenity turned and found Princess Kakyuu.  
  
"Forgive me," Serenity replied, wiping the tears away in embarrassment. "Thank you for your help."  
  
"For one who gave life back to the universe?" Kakyuu replied gently. "I could do no less."  
  
Serenity shifted uncomfortably, but knew better than to argue Kakyuu's judgment of her value to the universe.  
  
"Do not feel self-conscious about your tears, Serenity. May I call you Serenity?"  
  
"I'd really prefer Usagi, but I don't know if that's accurate anymore."  
  
"Usagi, then," and Princess Kakyuu smiled warmly. "It is only natural for you to have doubts. You have ascended to something that is above the rest of your kind. This can be very intimidating."  
  
"I don't want to be above the rest of them," whimpered Serenity. "I want to be the way I was before."  
  
"That can never be," Kakyuu told her sympathetically. "It is the way of things. However, while you may be beyond them in ability, you need not be beyond them here," and her hand touched Serenity's chest over her heart. "In fact, it is the wise ruler who remembers never to be beyond her people in her heart."  
  
"But what's if it's already too late?" Serenity asked. "I see the way they look at me - - like there's a wall between us. Like I'm so far above them that they're afraid to even touch me. Even Haruka won't call me 'Dumpling' anymore. How do I get them back?"  
  
"You must have patience and faith. They want to be with you, Usagi. They need you as much as you need them. They're just not sure the one to whom they are so devoted still exists. Give them time. A time will come when you will do something so uniquely 'Usagi' that they will know the one they love still exists within you."  
  
Serenity stared at her feet, barely visible under the hem of her flowing white gown.   
  
"I hope it's soon," she mumbled.  
  
Around the corner from them, Rei stood and listened. Her gaze was on the toes of her shoes as well. Dabbing a tear from her eye, she made her way back to the others.  
  
"Thank you for trying to cheer me up," Serenity said. "You seem to know so much about this."  
  
Princess Kakyuu tried to smother a smile and couldn't. "Your trials are not unknown to me. I went through much of what you go through upon my ascension from Sailor Firestorm to Princess Kakyuu. I was guided at the time by a mentor who taught me how to live with and to use my newfound consciousness and ability."  
  
"Really? Maybe you could help me - - if I'm not imposing? When do you have to leave?"  
  
Princess Kakyuu smiled again. "I shall remain for as long as you have need of me, my friend. I only pray that you do not grow tired of me."  
  
"Oh, no! Never!" gasped Serenity, some of the magic of her broad smile and dancing eyes returning to her expression. "I only hope I don't drive you away. I've never been a very good student."  
  
Princess Kakyuu gathered Serenity's hands in hers.  
  
"May I tell you a secret? Neither was I."   
  
* * * *  
  
"I was wondering where you got off to," Venus said. She and Sailor Jupiter walked down a broken street, passing a group of survivors burrowing through the rubble of a clothing store to try to salvage something.  
  
"I'm sorry," Jupiter flushed. "I just had to get away from that whole scene with Serenity. We hurt her and I don't know about you, but I feel like a rat about it." She sighed. "So I figured I'd better get away before I do or say something to make things worse. And then I figured, now that she's all right, I ought to go look for my family."  
  
"Hey, I didn't ask for your life story," jabbed Venus.  
  
"You're lucky I'm too tired to crush you," grumbled Jupiter.   
  
A clatter caught their attention. After listening intently, the two senshi picked up the frightened cry of a woman. Venus pointed in a direction and the pair sped for the source of the disturbance.  
  
In the shell of a caved in floral shop, three men had a woman trapped. She was a ragged woman in her mid-twenties, her eyes peering bright with terror out of the hollows of her sunken face as she pressed against a surviving wall. The men, thin and tattered themselves, closed on her from three sides.   
  
Venus raised her hand to use her attack, but Jupiter stopped her.  
  
"Those shock waves might bring the building down on all of them," warned Jupiter. "I'll handle this." Summoning her power, Jupiter cupped a ball of electricity in her hand, wound up and bellowed, "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"  
  
Turning to the noise behind them, the three men grew wide-eyed with terror. One turned tail and ran, but the blue-white ball of electricity exploded from the senshi and felled him in his tracks. The other two fell to their knees and pressed their heads to the ground, hoping to appease the monstrous sight before them.   
  
"Don't move," warned Jupiter coldly.   
  
"Mercy!" screamed one of the men, quivering in terror on the ground. By now, Venus had moved to the woman and was comforting her.  
  
"They," the woman sobbed, "wanted my ring. It was my mother's. She gave it to me on her deathbed. It's all I have left!"  
  
"You're safe now," Venus said as the woman cried on her shoulder. "Do you have a place to go?" The woman nodded mutely. "Then go there. We'll take care of these guys."   
  
The woman gazed up at Venus timidly. Something in Venus's manner must have given her reassurance. She released Venus and quickly moved away, pausing only to glare at the men on the ground before she was out of the building and gone. Venus walked over to where the two men cowered.  
  
"Leave it to a crisis of world-shattering proportions to send the rats scurrying out of their dens," Venus scowled.  
  
"Forgive us!" one of the men cried. "We are weak-willed and gave in easily. We don't have the strength of you or the mistress of the lightning demon!"  
  
"That rolls so easily off of your tongue!" snapped Jupiter. "You must have a lot of practice using it! Get up!"  
  
"You know," grumbled the other man as they both got to their feet, "it's easy for you to criticize. We don't have your fancy powers to get by on."  
  
Jupiter suddenly threw a palm thrust at the man. He blocked it easily, but she quickly turned, grabbed him by the arm and in one blinding motion he was on the ground on his back. Jupiter had her knee planted squarely on his sternum and her flat hand extended, the fingertips pressed to his throat.  
  
"It's even easier for me to take your head off!" Jupiter growled. "You just remember this the next time you think about bullying somebody: There's always somebody who's bigger or stronger or more skilled than you who'll make you pay." Jupiter rose from him, then kicked the soles of his feet. "Collect your friends and help some of these people dig out. And remember what I said."  
  
The men bowed quickly and left in an even bigger hurry, taking their stunned companion. Venus turned to leave, but stopped when she saw Jupiter hesitating.  
  
"I knew the woman who owned this shop," Jupiter said. "I met her at a meeting of the Juuban District Small Business Association. She was a real nice lady." Jupiter's jaw clenched tight, as if trying to stave off tears. "I hope she survived."  
  
They turned the corner and stopped. Jupiter stared down the street at the little bakery/restaurant nestled in the middle of the block that had been her life and her dream. Then the disaster came. Now it was a broken shell. Tears were welling up and she clenched her jaw to keep them at bay.  
  
"Oh, man," Jupiter whispered. "Just go ahead and rip my heart right out of my chest!" She felt Venus's hand on her shoulder. "All that work - - all those years of saving and the place was only open for five months."  
  
"World dominating bad-guys have never been known for their timing," Venus mused.  
  
The pair approached the husk of the shop. As she picked her way into the place through the door, Jupiter's foot brushed against something. Looking down, she saw it was one of the ornate wire napkin holders that used to adorn the tables in the restaurant section. Bending down, she picked it up and stared at it. She was going to cry - - she just knew it.  
  
"Please tell me you're not going to start cleaning," a man's voice said from the back of the storefront.  
  
"San-san!" Jupiter gasped, her mouth pulling into a wide smile. She quickly crossed over to the man and enveloped him in her arms. Though he was five foot seven and solidly built, Jupiter's frame encompassed him as she locked her arms around him and squeezed tightly. Her grateful lips sought out his and they locked in an embrace that spoke eloquently of their twelve - - no, it was now fourteen years of marriage and of their long separation.  
  
"Hi, Sanjuro," Venus smiled. "How are you holding up?"  
  
"Well," the man replied after disengaging his mouth from Jupiter's, "it was touch and go there for a while, but I'm still here, thanks to Usagi, I guess. Good to see you, Venus. That was her I felt reviving me, wasn't it?"  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't get in touch with you sooner," Jupiter fretted. "It was just so . . ."  
  
"I know," he smiled, gently caressing her face. "Senshi business. You got the job done."  
  
"Where are the kids?"  
  
"Just listen," Sanjuro whispered. Jupiter concentrated and heard footsteps through the rubble.  
  
"Mama, Mama!" Ichiro yelled plaintively. Jupiter knelt down as her son ran up to her. She scooped the boy up in her arms and smothered him with kisses as he clutched his mother's neck, loath to let go. "I was afraid you weren't coming back, Mama!"  
  
"Never think that, Ichiro," Jupiter whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "I will always come back to you, even if I have to march through Hell itself!"  
  
"Mom!" she heard Akiko squeal. The girl, smudged and tattered like her brother, scampered across the rubble-strewn floor. Jupiter knelt down again and took her in with her free arm while Ichiro hung on. The trio squeezed in tightly together. "You beat 'em, Mom! You beat 'em all, just like I knew you would!"  
  
"I'm glad you knew," Jupiter grinned, hugging her daughter to her. "Frankly I had my doubts."  
  
Sanjuro glanced over to Venus and noticed the senshi's eyes misting over.  
  
"What's the matter, Venus?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing," Venus said, flushing slightly. "I just - - it's nothing." She forced a smile onto her face. "Hey, kids, how about a hug for your favorite idol?"  
  
The kids disengaged themselves from their mother and ran over to Venus. While they hugged, Jupiter turned to Sanjuro and caught his hand in hers.  
  
"Was there any trouble here?" she asked.  
  
"No, it's been pretty quiet." Sanjuro smiled puckishly. "And I've got a surprise for you. Come on."  
  
Sanjuro led them to the back room of the storefront. Originally it had been divided up into a kitchen and a stockroom, but since the disaster had claimed their home, Sanjuro had set the place up as a temporary home for him and the children.  
  
Jupiter's eyes popped in wonder. Growing out of the middle of the room was a huge fruit tree. She stumbled into the room, staring up at it as it thrust up into the sky, through the roof and up to the nourishing sun. Venus smiled and shook her head.  
  
"Nice to see Usagi's aim hasn't changed," she chuckled.  
  
"This isn't inconvenient for you, is it San-san?" Jupiter asked.  
  
"No more than having most of the front of the building blown out," Sanjuro replied. "At least the kids won't have to go outside to get breakfast. Although I'm going to hate to have to cut it down when we begin to rebuild."  
  
Jupiter looked at him funny, hoping she heard what she thought she heard.  
  
"Did you think I was going to deprive the world of my wife's cooking?" he smiled. "Besides, I was beginning to like running a restaurant."  
  
Jupiter threw her arms around him. "Baby, you're the greatest!" she cooed.  
  
As their mouths found each other again, Venus quietly took the hands of the children and backed out, a huge smile on her face.  
  
Continued in chapter 4 


	4. The Budding Bloom

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 4: "The Budding Bloom"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
"Anybody seen Serenity?" Venus asked loudly as she entered the hulk of what had been a business.   
  
"Shhh!" Rei said sharply. Venus craned her head to the sound and Rei pointed. On the floor where Endymion still slept, Serenity was curled up next to him, nestled against his chest.  
  
"Aw," grinned Venus. "That's sweet. Wish I still had a guy to do that with."  
  
"You two didn't have to break up," Ami clucked, walking behind her with some salvaged blankets.  
  
"Yes we did," Venus said, flashing a bittersweet grin. "Toshihiro was a great guy to sleep with, but the times he was awake were a bitch." She glanced at Rei. "Now what's eating you?"  
  
"I'm worried about her," Rei frowned.  
  
"Imagine that," Ami commented wryly.  
  
"More than usual," groused Rei. "You're the smarty-pants doctor. How well do you think she's coping with this?"  
  
"With the disaster?" Ami asked, her curiosity aroused.  
  
"Not just that. With what she's become, too." Rei noticed the other two looking at her. "You remember how long it took her to adjust to being Sailor Moon. How long it took her to adjust to each power evolution she went through. And there was always a period of doubt after each ascension."  
  
"That happened when she was a teen. She's a lot more mature now."  
  
"Yeah, but I don't think she's ever stopped doubting herself deep down. Even though we've been at this for twenty years, I'll still bet deep down she expects to wake up and find it was all a dream."  
  
"Well, I know she hasn't been too happy with the way we've be reacting to her. Have you sensed something else?" Venus asked.  
  
"Yeah," Rei replied. "I'm getting feelings of confusion from her, like she's intimidated by all this new power - - afraid of it. And I overheard her talking to Princess Kakyuu."  
  
"Eavesdropping? Good Girl!" grinned Venus. Rei made a rude gesture at her. "So spill."  
  
Rei was about to speak when the door burst open. Jupiter stuck her head in the doorway.  
  
"Ami, we've got an emergency here!" Jupiter barked.  
  
Ami hustled outside, followed closely by Rei and Venus. Jupiter was over by a civilian. He was writhing on the ground, clutching his arm.   
  
"What happened?" Ami asked, clicking into doctor mode.  
  
"Oh, please!" whimpered the man. "It hurts so!"  
  
"He's got a really nasty burn, Ami," Jupiter told her.  
  
"How did it happen?" Ami asked, forcing the man's hand away.  
  
"Trying to make a fire!" hissed the man. "Keep warm! Must have spilled some of the gasoline!"  
  
"You tried to start a fire with gasoline?" gasped Rei.  
  
"Well, it burns faster than water," Venus commented dryly.  
  
"Why don't you go soak your head in gasoline!" fumed Rei.  
  
"Hmm," grimaced Ami, examining the man's forearm. "It's a bad burn, but not as bad as it could have been. I can make a salve that will help with the healing, but I'm afraid it's going to scar some."  
  
"Yes! Please, anything! Thank you!" groaned the man.  
  
"Let me get started on that salve," Ami said.  
  
"Here, allow me," Serenity said. The senshi jumped in surprise, having not heard Serenity come up.  
  
"Are you OK?" Rei asked.  
  
"Yes, thank you. It was kind of fun until Jupiter woke me up," Serenity grinned. Jupiter blushed.   
  
She glided up next to Ami. They could see Endymion close behind her. Ami looked at her, puzzled.  
  
"Just think of how you would make this salve," Serenity replied.  
  
Ami concentrated for a moment. Serenity reached up and gently touched one finger to Ami's forehead. Her left hand closed and when it opened again, a small jar of salve was in it.  
  
Ami stared in disbelief, first at the jar of salve and then at Serenity. Within seconds, Serenity could sense everyone staring at her.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered and pushed past them.  
  
"Serenity," Jupiter called after her. She was about to call again, but Endymion pushed past them all and went after his wife.   
  
"See what I mean?" Rei asked the group.  
  
Endymion found Serenity not far from the shelter, her shoulders slumped and her head cast down. He eased up behind her and gently grasped her by the shoulders. Serenity turned and buried herself in his chest.  
  
"I hate this!" she cried. "I hate the way they stare at me! I hate not being one of them anymore!"  
  
"Why aren't you one of them?" Endymion asked softly.  
  
"I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know when it all went wrong. Oh if only those Frost Giants had never attacked." Suddenly Serenity pulled her head up and faced her husband. "What about us?"  
  
"What about us?" Endymion repeated. "Nothing's changed."  
  
"Everything's changed! You're not Mamo-chan anymore! You're Endymion! I don't even know who Endymion is! And I'm not Usako anymore, I'm Serenity! And you may not love Serenity!"  
  
Endymion smiled and gently placed his hand on his wife's chest, just over her heart.  
  
"Your name may be different and your abilities may have grown, but you're still the same person in here," he said. "I didn't fall in love with Usagi or Sailor Moon or Usako or Serenity. I fell in love with you - - no matter what your name is." He took her small hand in his and pressed it to his chest, just over his heart. "And I'm still the same person in here, no matter what I can do now or what anyone calls me. Believe that in your heart."  
  
Serenity's eyes began to tear. Her lower lip quivered as her mouth elongated into a smile. Suddenly she buried her face in his chest and squeezed him tight.  
  
"Oh, that's the most beautiful thing you've ever said!" Serenity sobbed.  
  
"Thank you," grinned Endymion. "The most beautiful thing you ever said was 'I do'."  
  
Serenity pulled back from Endymion and stared up at him, her face a portrait of happy gratitude mixed with something more. Her chest heaved.  
  
"Um - - no, I shouldn't," she said, embarrassed.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Um, well, I was just thinking," she began, nervously tracing a pattern on Endymion's chest with her finger, "with everything that's going on, do you think it would be terrible of us if we, um, went off somewhere and, um - - you know?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"I think the world can spare us for a few hours," Endymion asked, his smile communicating his assent.  
  
Serenity smiled shyly.  
  
"Do you know a place?" Endymion grinned eagerly.  
  
"I'll make one," she said, the excitement clear in her voice.   
  
* * * *  
  
"These are scenes I hoped never to see again," Sailor Star Fighter said. She walked along side Princess Kakyuu as they wandered through the remains of Tokyo. The princess had voiced a desire to survey things and Star Fighter was along to protect her. "This devastation reminds me of Kinmoku - - after 'she' was finished."  
  
"Yes," nodded Kakyuu. "Usagi faces a daunting task."  
  
"She'll succeed," pronounced Star Fighter. "She has the heart of a warrior and the wisdom of the ages."  
  
"And the kindness and gentleness to know how to use such gifts," Kakyuu added.  
  
"She's like you in a lot of ways," Star Fighter said.  
  
"How kind of you to say," smiled Kakyuu. "Another might mistake such flattery for more than simple kindness."  
  
"You're teasing me again, my Princess," Star Fighter said, fighting a losing battle to maintain her stony exterior.  
  
"Only because I so love your reaction to it," twittered Princess Kakyuu. "I hope you can forgive me for vexing you."  
  
"I'll certainly try," Star Fighter replied warmly.  
  
Suddenly she noticed Kakyuu's attention turn. Following the movement of her princess's gaze, the woman saw the caved in remains of a medical clinic. When Princess Kakyuu moved for it, she naturally followed.  
  
"Caution, My Princess," warned Star Fighter.  
  
"Of course," Kakyuu replied. She stared at some fallen concrete and brick rubble. "Someone is trapped beneath. He still lives. Star Fighter, if you would?"  
  
Star Fighter nodded. Pulling out her belt weapon, she held it over her head.   
  
"Star Serious Laser!"  
  
An energy beam split the air, then split the rubble. Several precise strokes reduced the brick and mortar to pebbles. Beneath was the battered form of a man.  
  
Princess Kakyuu knelt down beside him. Instantly her aura flared red around her body and enveloped the fallen man. She concentrated for a few minutes until the man began to stir.  
  
"So warm," he whispered. His eyes opened. He stared up at Princess Kakyuu and she responded with her warmest, most disarming smile. "Who are you?"  
  
"A friend," was all she said. With her help and the help of Star Fighter, the man got to his feet.  
  
"My clinic," mumbled the man. "Did everyone else get out?"  
  
"I sense two bodies," Princess Kakyuu informed him with gentle sympathy. "If there were more, they have escaped. How are you?"  
  
"I," and the man mentally inventoried his body, "I'm fine. But I was trapped - - broken ribs and internal bleeding. How?"  
  
"I merely acted to the best of my abilities," Kakyuu said. "Do your patients ask how you mend them?" She touched the face of the man and it seemed to give him comfort. "When you are able, there are others in need of your skills. Please go to them."  
  
"I - - yes," he nodded. "Thank you."  
  
Princess Kakyuu nodded and walked off. Sailor Star Fighter followed.  
  
"A small victory," commented Star Fighter.  
  
"All victories matter, no matter how large or small," Kakyuu said. "I do what I can. Someone must continue the work of Usagi until she is able to find herself."  
  
"Perhaps I," Star Fighter began, then hesitated. "Perhaps I can help her, somehow?"  
  
"Your offer is kind and demonstrates your depth of charity," Kakyuu replied. "But Usagi is in good hands at the moment."  
  
* * * *  
  
"I'm going out," Ami pronounced to the others.  
  
"I'll go with you," Rei offered. "We can look for him together."  
  
"Him? I was going out looking for injured people to help."  
  
"Ami," gasped Rei. "What about Hayami?"  
  
"There are sick and injured people out there," Ami replied, turning away as she so often did when she didn't want to confront something that made her uncomfortable. "They need a doctor's help."  
  
"Ami, you've been going almost non-stop since the world defrosted. I know there's a lot of suffering out there . . ."  
  
"And you're asking me to ignore it. I can't."  
  
"No one's going to think less of you if you take some time out to look for Hayami. He's your husband!"  
  
"I think the people who are injured would," and Ami pushed out the door into the street. There they found more people gathered around, waiting for something - - Usagi perhaps? Rei ran to catch up with her.  
  
"And what if Hayami's one of those injured?" Rei asked, grabbing Ami by the arm. "You always do this! Whenever it comes to feelings and emotions and your passions, you always run and hide behind your medical degree!"  
  
"That's not fair," scowled Ami.  
  
"No, but it's accurate! What if Hayami's laying under some debris right now, calling your name? Sacrificing your husband to save the life of a stranger may make you noble in some people's eyes. In mine, it just makes you stupid. And I never thought of you as stupid."  
  
Ami turned away again. For a moment a wave of utter fury passed through Rei. Then her psychic vision flashed onto something.  
  
"You're afraid of something else," Rei said softly.  
  
Ami winced.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Sometimes you see too much," Ami whispered. She kept her back to Rei. "What if he's dead, Rei? I don't want to see his dead body. It's only been three years since my father died. The memory's so fresh it's like it happened yesterday. To this day I can see him lying there in that box, lifeless. What it did to me and Mother - - Mother!" Ami whirled on Rei, wide-eyed and fearful. "What if she's dead, too? I-I can't look at them if they're dead, Rei! I can't deal with it! Mother means everything to me, despite our differences! And Hayami and I were just beginning to really love each other!"  
  
"You didn't love each other when you got married?" Rei asked, confused.  
  
"Yes, but it was a different love. It was a desperate, lonely kind of reaching out love. But the longer we were together, the more in love we grew. Hayami's a fine, wonderful man! He is!" And Ami seemed to go limp. Rei caught her and propped her up. "I think I'd rather spend the rest of my life wondering if he's alive rather than know he's dead."  
  
Rei stared at Ami's misery, completely blown away. Ami's perspective was one she hadn't even considered, hadn't even dreamed of. And forcing it to the surface had reduced her friend to a shuddering basket case of worry. She'd always thought Ami to be tenaciously even-tempered. It made Rei feel tremendously guilty.  
  
"Ami," Rei said desperately, trying to assuage her friend's sorrow and her own guilt, "you've got to trust that he's alive! You can't give up hope! He's probably trying to get to you right now! Please, you've got to believe that!"  
  
"Why?" Ami asked. "That's your solution to everything, act on faith! Well faith is your province, not mine! I'm a woman of science! Do you have proof? If I go look for him and find him dead, are you just going to look guilty and say 'whoops'? If he's dead, I don't want to know!"  
  
"But if he's alive and he dies later because you weren't there, are you going to be able to live with the guilt?" Rei asked.  
  
Ami stared at Rei, trying to come up with some counter-argument. Then her face crumbled into anguish and she buried her face in Rei's shoulder. Rei wrapped her arms around her friend.  
  
"Sometimes I wish I was a little girl again," cried Ami, "and I didn't have to make these kind of decisions! I hate death and dying so much! But no matter what I do here, someone is going to die!" And she shuddered from her sobs.  
  
"Ami, you're an emotional wreck right now," Rei said, rubbing her friend's shoulder as she cried. "With all we've been through, it's no wonder. You're no different from anyone else." She continued to hold Ami. "Want to know something? After all that time I spent in that cell on Knorr, I'm - - kind of afraid of being alone now. It's one of the reasons I wanted to come with you. I was alone in that cell for almost two years and - - well - - maybe someday when everything's back to normal, I won't be. I know damn well that I'm not going to spend the rest of my life being afraid. But it's OK now, because I'm, you know, walking wounded. We all are. Right now you're wound tighter than the spring on a clock and it's got you a little crazy. But when everything's back to normal and you're cuddled up in Hayami's arms, all of this will just be a bad dream."  
  
"You've been reading too many fairy tales," Ami choked out through her tears. "Life's not like that."  
  
"Oh no? Well I say you're wrong," Rei said with a growing smile. "You want proof, Miss Woman of Science? The proof's right behind you."  
  
Turning around, Ami looked.  
  
"H-Hayami?" she whispered. The figure was tattered and worn, covered with dirt and dust, and clearly tired from exertion. He held his broken glasses in his hand and offered his wife a lame smile.  
  
"Hi," he said timidly. "I-I heard you were here. I walked here all the way from home. It's OK. Just a few broken windows. And there's a wonderful garden in the front yard now!" He looked down at the glasses in his hand. "I broke my glasses."  
  
Ami expelled a loud shuddering breath, a crossbreed between a sob and a huge sigh of relief. She took several small steps toward him, then broke into a run and flung herself to him, wrapping her arms around his round, squat frame.  
  
"OH, HAYAMI!" she wailed, burying her face in his chest. She continued to bawl like a child while Hayami curled his arms around her. Rei noticed tears streaming from his eyes as well.  
  
"I was afraid for you, too, dear," he whispered.  
  
Rei came up and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm real glad you made it, Hayami."  
  
"I'm glad you made it, too," Hayami replied politely. "The others?"  
  
"Yeah," Rei nodded.  
  
"A-And Usagi? How is she?"  
  
Rei cocked her head like she was listening to something only she could hear - - or more accurately, only she could feel. A small smile crept onto her face.   
  
"She's getting there," Rei replied.  
  
* * * *  
  
In the park by the lake, under the shelter of a tree that had seen seventy-five summers, a place where Usagi and Mamoru had come to as teens and tentatively held hands as they watched the setting sun cast patterns of light onto the water, Serenity and Endymion lay. The park, grown over with cherry and apple trees and patches of rice and sweet potatoes, was silent as the cloak of evening spread out over it. The water, sadly polluted from the wreckage of a news helicopter that had crashed into it, was nonetheless placid in the dying glow of evening. The couple was cradled in each other's arms, lying beneath the moonlight as Adam and Eve had that first night.   
  
Serenity snuggled against the chest of her husband - - yes, her husband, the man she had pledged to for eighteen years and loved for a millennium, of that she was now certain - - and drew comfort from his strength. Endymion gripped her tighter as he rested, content that the woman he adored was in his arms and that in her great charity had granted him the one thing he desired most in this world - - her smile.  
  
A shadow peered out from behind a cherry tree some forty yards away from them. It didn't move. It made no threatening actions toward the dozing couple. It merely observed. Soon another shadow approached the first. However, the first shadow did not lift its gaze from Serenity and Endymion. The second shadow reached out and touched the first.  
  
"Seiya," Princess Kakyuu whispered delicately.  
  
"I," Sailor Star Fighter began awkwardly, "was merely making sure nothing happened to them. There are still marauders wandering around."  
  
"Your selfless concern for her is quite noble," the princess replied. Star Fighter's eyes flared.  
  
"I beg you, my princess," she replied bitterly, "don't mock me."  
  
"I would do no such thing, dear Seiya," Princess Kakyuu told her earnestly. "Your feelings for Usagi are noble. It is why I chose you to accompany me and not one of your fellow senshi."  
  
Star Fighter turned to hide her expression. "I almost wish you hadn't. I was content on Kinmoku. I had almost forgotten her."  
  
"You will never forget her, dear Seiya," Princess Kakyuu said. "A light that shines as brightly as hers comes along only once in a millennium and all who she touches cannot help but recall her radiance for the rest of their life." She squeezed Star Fighter's shoulder. "It is only when you accept that she chose another over you that your pain will diminish."   
  
Star Fighter's head snapped around and she glared angrily at Princess Kakyuu. The princess accepted her senshi's glare with placid grace and eventually Star Fighter's ire spent itself and her eyes sought the ground.  
  
"I bow to your wisdom, my princess," Star Fighter said hoarsely, "though its sting gives me pain."  
  
"Forgive me for causing you pain," the princess asked.  
  
Shoulders bowed, Sailor Star Fighter turned and quietly left the park. Princess Kakyuu followed behind her, leaving two lovers alone under the blanket of the night sky.  
  
Continued in part 5 


	5. Through The Eyes Of A Child

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 5: "Through The Eyes Of A Child"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
It had once been the Tokyo Performing Arts Center, a jewel of the great city and a place for people to come and enjoy all manner of entertainment. That was before the Frost Giants came. Through a miraculous combination of fortune and excellent construction, the structure survived two years of ice covering it. Now it was a makeshift hospital. One side of the building was cordoned off from the other. On one side doctors, nurses, EMT technicians, medical students and anyone else who could help gathered to treat the sick and injured.   
  
On the other, the dead were gathered, identified and prepared for burial.  
  
"This patient is ready for transfer," Dr. Mizuno said to a volunteer as she examined a battered young girl on a table. "You'll be all right."  
  
"Have you seen my Mom?" the girl asked weakly.  
  
"No, I haven't," grimaced Dr. Mizuno. The child was carried away on a makeshift litter and Dr. Mizuno steadied herself for the next in what was becoming an endless line of patients.  
  
"Naturally you'd be here."  
  
Dr. Mizuno turned, exhilaration flooding through her fifty-two year old body. There behind her was a sight she'd hoped she'd see, a hope she kept buried beneath her duty.  
  
"This was the most logical place to start looking for you," Ami commented. "I'm glad I was right the first time. I'm glad you're alive, Mother."  
  
"Ami," Dr. Mizuno smiled with relief. Then her medical instincts took over. "You're just in time. We can use all the help we can get."  
  
"How are you, Mother?" Ami asked, just a little perturbed by her parent's response.  
  
"I'm fine," the woman said. "It was quite an ordeal, but I managed to make it through with little damage. You obviously survived, too. Hayami?"  
  
"Hayami made it, too. I'm glad to know you were interested."  
  
"Ami," Dr. Mizuno sighed. "These people need me. I couldn't . . ."  
  
"Please don't," Ami scowled. "I know the words by heart. I was saying the same thing to Rei just a few hours ago. 'Duty always comes before personal pleasures'."  
  
"Could we continue this conversation while we help some of these injured?" Dr. Mizuno bristled.  
  
"I have to get back. Right now my duty is to Serenity and the other senshi." Ami turned to leave, then paused. "Rei actually had to convince me to go looking for you, rather than shirk my duty."  
  
Dr. Mizuno started to reply, but saw her daughter was already leaving. Sighing in frustration, she turned back to her patient and buried herself in her work.  
  
* * * *  
  
The door of the temporary headquarters for Princess Serenity and her band of senshi opened. Their suspicions aroused, Rei, Ami and Hayami turned to the door. In times like these, it was hard not to be paranoid.  
  
But the head that peered in through the door belonged to Michiru, allowing one and all a chance to breathe again.  
  
"Hi," Michiru ventured cautiously. As usual, Haruka flanked her. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just wanted a word with U - - er, I mean Serenity."  
  
"It's hard getting used to saying that," Haruka quipped, trying to take the edge off of the awkward situation.  
  
"I know," Rei nodded. "She's not here."  
  
"Oh," Michiru replied, disappointed. "Is she out with the one from off-world?"  
  
"Princess Kakyuu?" Rei asked. "Not from the vibes I was getting, unless there's something about those two that I don't know about. I'd say she's with Endymion."  
  
"You can tell that just from psychic vibrations?" inquired Michiru.  
  
"Yeah - - because they were 'those kind'," Rei smirked.  
  
Michiru stared, perplexed, though Haruka seemed to understand. Then the light bulb went off over her head.  
  
"Oh!" gasped Michiru, embarrassed. "Those kind. Well, after everything they've been through, I guess they deserve it."  
  
"I know we did," Haruka chimed in, curling an arm around Michiru.  
  
"Haruka," Michiru hissed uncomfortably. Trying to shift the subject, she noticed Ami and Hayami sitting arm in arm on the floor. They noticed her looking.  
  
"Michiru, this is my husband, Hayami," Ami said proudly.  
  
"I'm glad to meet you," Michiru nodded. "I'd heard Ami got married." She noticed Hayami staring at her. "Is there something concerning you?"  
  
"Y-You're Michiru Kaioh, aren't you?" sputtered Hayami. "Forgive me. My glasses broke and I can't quite tell except for the green hair."  
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"You're fantastic! Your album of violin symphonies was - - was art! And the collection of your prints is one of the best movers at the library. At least it was."  
  
"Thank you. Your affection is flattering." Michiru gestured toward Haruka. "Maybe you didn't recognize Haruka without your glasses, either."  
  
"Haruka Tenoh? The race car driver?"  
  
"Yeah," Haruka grinned. "You a big race fan?"  
  
"Not really," admitted Hayami.  
  
"Oh," Haruka replied, slightly deflated.  
  
"Best behavior, everybody!" Rei said suddenly. "We've got kids coming!"  
  
The door opened. Makoto, flanked by Minako and Sanjuro, ushered her two kids into the room. They were timid and unsure at first, until they recognized all their favorite aunts inside.  
  
"Auntie Rei, you're alive!" squealed Akiko while Ichiro ran over and hugged Ami. The girl bounded down and Rei scooped her up in her arms. "Auntie Rei, we were so scared we'd never see you again!"  
  
"Same here, button nose," smiled Rei, hugging the girl. "I'm glad you made it."  
  
"Daddy was there," Akiko shrugged.  
  
"And how are you doing, Ichiro?" Ami asked the young boy.  
  
"I'm OK," he said quietly. "Mom's back and everyone's OK and there's no school anymore. Of course, there's no TV, either."  
  
"That just means we'll have to work hard to get them back, right?" Ami prodded. Ichiro nodded reluctantly.  
  
"Where's Auntie Usagi?" Akiko asked. "Is she OK? Is she still sick?"  
  
"Usagi's fine," Rei reassured her. "She's just off - - doing something important."  
  
"What about Akira-Sensei?"  
  
Rei felt her heart sink. Being reminded of Akira was bad enough, but having to break it to a ten-year-old was worse.  
  
"Akiko, honey," Rei began, "Akira-Sensei didn't make it."  
  
Akiko's bouncy demeanor drained out of her face like someone had pulled a plug from a sink. Her lip quivered, then she jammed her face to Rei's shoulder.  
  
"But Auntie Rei!" sobbed Akiko. "I was in love with him!"  
  
"I know, Akiko-chan," Rei whispered. Instantly Makoto was by her daughter's side. She eased Akiko away from Rei and let the girl cling to her. "If it helps, he died trying to save someone else's life."  
  
"Is he in heaven now?" squeaked the girl.  
  
"I made sure of it," Rei said. It seemed to give the young girl some comfort. Then Ichiro eased up next to them.  
  
"It'll be all right, Akiko," he said, touching her dangling leg.  
  
"Thanks, squirt," she sniffed.  
  
Haruka and Michiru looked on, touched and saddened by the display. Michiru leaned her head on Haruka's shoulder.  
  
"And you always wondered why I never wanted kids," Michiru whispered. "Who can deal with heartbreak like that? Having Hotaru leave was bad enough." Haruka bent her head to touch Michiru's.   
  
"You dealt with it. You could deal with that, too, if you wanted to," Haruka whispered back. "You can deal with just about anything." It drew a smile from Michiru.  
  
"We figured you folks needed Makoto back," Sanjuro told them, "and I didn't want to separate the kids from her again. Hope we're not imposing."  
  
"Are you kidding?" grinned Ami. "I think Serenity would have our hides if we turned you away."  
  
"I'll second that," Rei added. "You folks stay for as long as you want."  
  
"Um, we're going to go," Michiru announced suddenly. She clasped Haruka's hand and eased them toward the door. "We'll check in later to see if everything's all right."  
  
"Running off so soon?" Makoto inquired with a hint of suspicion in her voice.  
  
"There's still a lot of things that need attending to," Michiru replied. "Plus neither of us have seen Setsuna around recently - - and I want to make sure Usagi's all right with my own eyes." A flash in her eyes seemed to challenge Makoto to disagree.  
  
"Don't disturb them," came the polite warning from Rei. She went back to fussing over Akiko.  
  
"I wouldn't dream of it," Michiru said with a knowing smirk.  
  
Outside, Haruka and Michiru found more people waiting at the building. The crowd was well-behaved, but seemed to be searching for answers or hope - - or something, and milled about absently. Michiru felt Haruka squeeze her hand.  
  
"What's got you worried?" Haruka asked.  
  
"Just what I said in there," Michiru replied.  
  
"Setsuna's a big girl with a lot to sort out. Still, I'd like to know she's safe, too. After what happened, feeling safe seems like a luxury. But it's this Kakyuu woman that's really got you bothered, isn't it?"  
  
"I admit, I don't quite trust her yet," Michiru said. "Besides, I can tell you're not that happy with Sailor Star Fighter being back, either."  
  
"That little runt tries to break them up and she's history," scowled Haruka.  
  
"Ahh, I love having these intellectual debates with you," smirked Michiru.  
  
* * * *  
  
Sailor Pluto walked along a broken street in broken Tokyo, one she had walked many times as Setsuna Meioh. The familiarity of the path brought back memories of her previous life as Setsuna. For she was Setsuna Meioh no longer. For now and eternity, she would be only Sailor Pluto.  
  
They were all the more painful, for they were nice memories, recollections of her days at the university. Going back to her time as a teaching assistant to Professor Shinjo, there were many happy memories associated with the university, to which this path led. But now the path ahead seemed to lead only to ruin.  
  
"Please?" came a plaintive voice.   
  
Sailor Pluto turned and found a woman who might have been thirty. Her clothes were dirty and torn and she seemed a shell of a person. Her eyes were deep-set and haunted, her frame stooped and unhealthy. Many had recovered from being frozen with less than full health. It looked like she was one of them.  
  
"You're one of 'them', aren't you?" she asked. Her entire manner was edgy and desperate. "The ones who saved us?"  
  
"I am," Pluto replied.  
  
"C-Could you help me, please? I don't mean to impose . . ."  
  
"How may I assist you? Are you ill?"  
  
"It's just - - I can't find him."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Kusuke. I can't find him! I've looked and I've looked, and all I see are dead people who can't walk and - - and walking people who don't know they're dead. Please help me find him!"  
  
"Who is Kusuke?" asked Pluto.  
  
"My son. He's only seven. We were coming to the library at-at the university. Kusuke's very smart. He loves to come to the library and explore and the university library has so many books the others don't have. His eyes always light up when we go there." The woman's fond reminiscences died away and a danker, more desperate expression colored her. "We got separated - - during the crisis - - during when 'they'," and the woman shuddered at the very memory of the Frost Giants storming through Tokyo. "I have to find him! I'm his mother! I have to protect him!"  
  
Sailor Pluto looked on with sympathy, but with a sadness that seemed to throw cold water on the woman's hopes.   
  
"Calm yourself, please," Pluto replied. "I shall look for him. However, you must be prepared for the worst. We have all gone through a tragedy and there were those who did not survive."  
  
"Just find him, please," begged the woman. "I have to know."  
  
"Very well."  
  
Her eyes focusing on things that only she could see, Sailor Pluto stood and stared. Already unnerved by everything that had transpired, the woman's hand came to her mouth and she stepped back. The ruby orb atop Pluto's staff began to pulse with a life beat all its own.  
  
"I'm sorry," Pluto said softly, returning from where she'd gone. "Your son is dead."  
  
The woman seemed to choke out a gasped breath, then began quivering. She folded up into herself, covering her chest with her arms and sank to her knees. Burning hot tears flowed from lids clamped shut and eyes that no longer wished to see.  
  
"Oh, Yu-chan," she cried. "I'm so sorry! I was supposed to protect you!"  
  
Though she was now and forever Sailor Pluto and she had witnessed billions of deaths more gruesome and more tragic, her ascension had not taken her human soul from her. Crestfallen, Pluto knelt down next to the woman and gathered her up. The woman sobbed into Pluto's chest as she held her, trying to comfort what could not be comforted.  
  
"I grieve for your loss," Pluto whispered. "His death is a tragedy. He was a fine boy."  
  
"Did you know him?" the woman sniffed, her sorrows eased slightly by someone to share it with.  
  
"I do now," Pluto said, returning from her vision of his life. "You were a fine mother to him. Do not think for a single moment that you failed him. You were his shining light for his too short life."  
  
The woman continued to cry and Pluto continued to comfort her.  
  
* * * *  
  
Walking hand in hand from the park, Serenity and Endymion surveyed again the destruction that was Tokyo. But they saw it in a different light now: before it all seemed so hopeless, while now a new optimism colored their viewpoint. It wouldn't be easy, but she envisioned a time where she and Endymion walked the streets shopping and laughing and flirting just like the old days.  
  
As they walked, strangers would come up to her in the street. They would greet her, thank her for all sorts of things, and reach out to touch her. Serenity was amused by it at first, but as the crowds grew in number and fervor, she grew pensive. Serenity shrank against Endymion and he covered her with his cloak for protection. From a distance, people began to shout to her, plead with her for help. Some wanted to know the fate of loved ones, while others pleaded with her to rebuild and restore everything they'd had and lost during the crisis. Very quickly the pleas became an indecipherable din and Endymion hurried her on.  
  
Sensing his wife's growing distress, Endymion acted. Grasping her hand tighter, Endymion leaped up into the air. The pair defied gravity, floating silently up into the air. They soared across the darkened square and glided effortlessly down through the hole in the roof to the building's upper floor. The pack following them sighed in disappointment and wonder.  
  
"I didn't know you could do that," marveled Serenity.  
  
"I can do anything as long as I'm holding you," Endymion grinned. He bent in and stole a kiss, eliciting a giggle from Serenity.  
  
They walked down the stairs to the first floor. There they found everyone asleep except Minako and Artemis. They were off in a corner talking. Luna turned from her perch in the window.  
  
"Serenity!" she gasped happily. "Endymion! When did you return?"  
  
"Just now," smiled Serenity.  
  
"Is popping in out of nowhere one of your new talents?" Minako asked, startled. She noticed the smile fade from Serenity's face. "Um, sorry."  
  
Turning from Minako, Serenity spotted Akiko snuggled in Sanjuro's arms and Ichiro sleeping next to Makoto.  
  
"Endymion!" she gasped happily. "The children survived!"  
  
Akiko raised her head and rubbed her eyes. She looked up inquiringly at the voices above her.  
  
"Auntie Usagi?" she squinted. Then her face lit up with excitement. "Ichiro, look! It's Auntie Usagi!"  
  
"Where?" slurred Ichiro.  
  
By the time he focused, Akiko was already up and running to her. Not one to let his sister beat him, the boy was up and scampering over to her as well. By now everyone was awake. They saw Serenity kneel and catch the two children in her arms. She hugged them to her, the kids pressing against her as hard as they could. For a moment it seemed like old times to them, old times they all feared were gone forever.  
  
"Oh, I'm so glad you two are all right!" sobbed Serenity. "I would have been devastated if we'd lost you!"  
  
"I'm real glad you're not sick anymore, Auntie Usagi," Ichiro told her. "You are all well, aren't you?"  
  
"I'm fine," beamed Serenity. She grew a conspiratorial glint in her eye. "And I think I've got something for the two of you."  
  
Instantly the two kids grew excited at the prospect of a treat from their favorite 'Aunt'. Releasing them, Serenity brought her hands up between them. She clasped them together for a moment. When she opened them, there were two pieces of wrapped candy in her palm. Then she felt the room tense and was instantly sorry she'd done it.  
  
"Wow!" gasped Akiko, unaffected.   
  
"You're a magician!" squealed Ichiro. Each child snatched up the candy.  
  
"Can you do other stuff?" Akiko asked.  
  
"A few things," Serenity shrugged modestly. "Aren't you scared of it, though?"  
  
"Scared? Why? You're amazing, Auntie Usagi!" Ichiro marveled.  
  
"Did you see what she did, Mom? Isn't she great?" Akiko asked, turning to Makoto.  
  
Makoto stared at the woman that looked like her longtime friend. Then she looked back at the expectant Akiko. Then a shy, apologetic smile grew on her face.  
  
"I don't know," Makoto said, looking Serenity straight in the eye. "She seems like the same old Aunt Usagi to me." Serenity's eyes began to mist as her mouth widened into a smile.  
  
"Aw, Mom, you're blind!" gasped Akiko in horror.  
  
"Yeah," nodded Rei with a wistful grin. "Same old goofy Usagi to me."  
  
"No question," grinned Minako. "Nothing's changed that I can see."  
  
"She certainly seems like the same old good friend to me," Ami pronounced happily.  
  
Tears trickled down cheeks bunched up to accommodate an ear to ear grin. Serenity looked on, helpless to act, yet deliriously relieved.  
  
"Are you all blind?" howled Akiko. "She's super now!"  
  
"Well," shrugged Makoto, to her daughter, "your Aunt Usagi has always been super in my eyes."  
  
Instantly Serenity broke down in shudders of happy tears. Her four lifelong friends gathered around her and the five shared a long group hug.  
  
"Uncle Mamo-chan," scowled Akiko. Endymion knelt down next to the girl. "Why are adults weird?  
  
Endymion smiled and hugged the girl.  
  
Continued in Chapter 6 


	6. The Learning Curve

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 6: "The Learning Curve"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
Serenity appeared at the window of the small building acting as a base for the senshi. Outside, a hundred people had gathered, waiting for something. When they saw her at the window, the crowd looked and pointed and surged in to get closer.  
  
It was too much for her to stand and she turned away. To her surprise, she found Princess Kakyuu behind her. Serenity jumped back in urprise.  
  
"My apologies, Usagi, for startling you," Princess Kakyuu said with serene grace.  
  
"I guess it's not your fault," Serenity whispered, embarrassed.  
  
"Do the people gathered outside distress you?"  
  
"Yes," Serenity replied, having long since given up wondering how Kakyuu always seemed to know her mind even when she didn't. "What do they want, Kakyuu?"  
  
"For some, a future," Princess Kakyuu replied. "For others, a restoration of what was. They look for hope. They see it here, so they come."  
  
"I'm only one person," Serenity sighed.  
  
"Only one person is needed to guide," Kakyuu smiled.  
  
"Yeah, but the person has to know where she's going first or she's a lousy guide," Serenity said miserably.  
  
"Your wisdom shows through once more," Kakyuu told her cheerfully. "You possess the proper direction already. You just do not trust your judgment. When you do, you will lead and they will follow."  
  
"I suppose they do still need my help." She started for the door, but Kakyuu's gentle hand on her arm stopped her.  
  
"Forgive me, Usagi, but it is the wise person who knows when to aid and when to step back and allow another to achieve alone - - and I sense there is something you feel you must do first." Serenity looked down. "Do not consider it selfish. You should do this, if only to ease your mind and allow you to better aid others."  
  
Serenity nodded. Then she looked up, almost desperately.  
  
"Will you come with me?" she asked.  
  
The hospital was an empty shell. Caved in on two sides, it was empty. The patients who survived were gone, evacuated along with all the drugs that could be salvaged. A grove of fruit trees grew in the lobby and the emergency room, giving some life to the hollow husk of cement and steel.  
  
Serenity stood at the foot of the rubble. Princess Kakyuu stood beside her. Both were solemn. Serenity lifted her arm up, then began to waver.  
  
"What do you fear?" Kakyuu asked.  
  
"That one day using the power is going to be too easy," Serenity admitted. "That I'll lose my humility and become a bully or arrogant."  
  
"They are wise cautions, ones you should keep close to your heart. But you must be cautious, not frozen into inaction. You have a good heart and a pristine soul. Listen to the concerns and advice of others at all times, but allow these traits already within you to guide you."  
  
Serenity nodded. She lifted her hand again and the rubble began to reform, the molecules of the debris manipulated by the energies of the Silver Crystal. The debris began to reform into a four-cornered six-foot pillar, colored black as night and tapering from a four-foot base to a one-foot tip. At the base was a plaque. Wiggling her finger in the air, Serenity caused characters to form on the plaque. Soon it read:   
  
"To the memory of Kenji and Ikuko Tsukino   
  
Undeserved as parents, but not forgotten by  
  
A grateful daughter"  
  
"I should have done something," Serenity whispered as she and Kakyuu stared at the monument.  
  
"Then let this be your next lesson, dear Usagi," Kakyuu told her. "We possess vast power. We can perform things that seem as miracles. But there are some things even we cannot alter. You must always try your best, but you must realize and accept that sometimes your best will not be good enough."  
  
"Then what's the use of having powers?" Serenity asked.  
  
"Dwell upon the positive rather than the negative, Usagi," Kakyuu said. "Do not berate yourself for the lives you cannot save. Instead cherish the lives you do save."  
  
"She makes sense," Serenity heard a voice she feared she would never hear again speak from behind her. Whirling, she saw Shingo, a little more gaunt than she recalled, but alive. Instantly she broke and ran to him.  
  
"Shingo!" she sobbed, hugging her brother. "Oh, I was worried you were dead, too!"  
  
"Guess I got lucky," Shingo said, returning her embrace. Since he dwarfed her by several inches now, the top of her head came to his throat. He rested his chin on her blonde hair and she didn't mind a bit.   
  
"I'm sorry I couldn't save Mom and Dad," Serenity whimpered.  
  
"Hey, until I saw all these trees sprout and heard your voice in my head, I was afraid you were in there with them. Glad to know I was wrong. Don't blame yourself - - although I know you're going to anyway."  
  
Shingo held his sister at arm's length and looked her over.  
  
"You've changed," he said and she cringed. "For the better. Just how powerful are you now?"  
  
"I'm still finding out myself," Serenity said sheepishly. Then she noticed Shingo was staring enraptured by Princess Kakyuu. "This is my friend and mentor, Princess Kakyuu."  
  
"I am pleased to meet you," Kakyuu said with a voice like a melody, smiling with the radiance of a small sun.  
  
"Uh huh," Shingo replied vacantly.   
  
  
  
"Stop drooling. You're embarrassing us both," Serenity whispered to her brother, nudging him. This shook Shingo out of his trance. He gave Kakyuu a sheepish glance, though the woman took no outward offense.  
  
"So, um, do you think you've got the power to fix all of this?" Shingo asked Serenity. "It's going to take months to dig out and months after that to rebuild. And the people I saw while I was wandering around need shelter."  
  
Serenity looked inquiringly to Kakyuu.  
  
"You must choose your own path, dear Usagi," Kakyuu advised her. "I can only offer guidance. Do you recall what I said to you earlier?"  
  
Serenity grimaced. "Not really. I warned you I was a terrible student."  
  
Kakyuu smiled. "Do you recall I told you that a wise person knows when to aid and when to step back and allow others to achieve? It is easy for those stronger or more fortunate to aid those weaker or less fortunate. Some might say it is a duty. But it is just as easy for the weak and less fortunate to become dependent upon that aid rather than achieve on their own. Assistance is not a bad word. Neither is charity. But neither is self-determination."  
  
Serenity looked down, hopelessly confused.  
  
"I think I can see what she's talking about," Shingo told his sister. "The more you do for people, the more they seem to expect you to do for them. I guess that's right." He turned his gaze to Kakyuu. "But on the other hand, if you turn your back on suffering, are you worthy of your strength or good fortune? Doesn't great power or fortune obligate a person to do more?"  
  
"Your brother speaks true and with great eloquence," Kakyuu told Serenity. "Usagi, you will run across situations where there is no wrong. You will also run into situations where there is no right."  
  
"So what do I do?" whined Serenity.  
  
"You must decide for yourself. You must choose what course you think is right."   
  
Serenity huffed in frustration. She looked to Shingo, then to Kakyuu and back to Shingo again.   
  
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to rebuild everyone's home," offered Serenity. She turned to Kakyuu. "Do you think I can do it?"  
  
"I think the important question is - - do you?" Kakyuu replied.  
  
* * * *  
  
It was a curious sight. Sailor Pluto standing before the broken rubble of the university library. Her hands clasped the Time Staff and her forehead leaned in against it. She was deep inside of herself, oblivious to the survivors who searched the remains of the campus for other victims, personal possessions or valuables to steal. Her long green-black hair blew slightly in the breeze that traveled across the campus. It was a warm summer breeze, one that hadn't been felt in nearly two years.  
  
As she concentrated, the ruby orb atop the staff began to glow and pulse with light. The light slowly grew brighter, the pulse stronger and more vibrant. The glow tinted Pluto's features in deep ruby. Suddenly her head righted itself and her eyes opened. The staff was brought to a sixty-degree angle, the orb pointing at the rubble.  
  
"Chronos Maelstrom!" Sailor Pluto called out.  
  
Impossibly ice began to reform upon the broken cement and stone. People stopped and stared, thinking Pluto was somehow resurrecting the menace that lingered just at the bottom of everyone's conscious thoughts. Then the broken bits of the building began to reconstruct. Corners knitted themselves back together. Crossbeams leaped back up onto their supports and stone and mortar jumped to cover them. Within seconds the building that was the university library lived again, once more covered in thick sheets of ice. But before the building could collapse again under the weight, the ice began to melt. When it evaporated into nothing, the library was restored, a place as it was before the Second Great Ice Age had occurred.  
  
And Sailor Pluto sank to her knees, gripping desperately onto the Time Staff for support.  
  
"Are you all right?" someone asked her. Pluto looked up and found a young man of college age standing over her. Though he had black hair and Japanese features, something about his frame and his mouth reminded her of Janus.  
  
"I," sighed Pluto with fatigue, "will recover shortly."  
  
"What happened here?"  
  
"I have reversed time in this small section of the world," Pluto explained. "There was a great reservoir of knowledge in this place. I - - did not wish humanity to lose it. We will need it in the coming months." Pluto seemed to sadden. "And it must be here for children to explore and grow wise."  
  
"And the people that were inside?" he asked hopefully.  
  
Pluto concentrated for a moment. "All who were trapped inside are without mutilation," she wheezed. "It is beyond even my power to restore life to them."  
  
"That's still amazing! Can you do it anywhere else?"  
  
"Yes," sighed Pluto as she climbed to her feet, "but I shall not."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"This process takes a great amount of effort from me. The strain would ultimately doom me - - and I have a destiny that I must fulfill." She rose to unsteady feet and looked at the stranger with solemn resolve. "Though I may desire such a thing, I cannot give in. To do so would divert the world from a path it must not be diverted from."  
  
  
  
Seeing the answer didn't satisfy the youth, Pluto put her hand on his shoulder.   
  
"Do not despair. 'She' is at this moment working for the greater good. Trust in 'her' and 'she' will protect you."  
  
And Sailor Pluto walked off, her mission accomplished.  
  
* * * *  
  
There was a knock at the door. All heads turned to the sound. Minako and Ami exchanged exasperated glances while Makoto shifted toward her children to better protect them. Who could be knocking now? The senshi, worn out from helping with the sick, the injured and the larcinous, were trying to grab some rest with exasperating lack of success. Throughout the day occasional strangers had come up to the door, begging to see "the great princess", seeking relief from their various misfortunes. Some requests were genuine and occasionally heart-rending; others were trivial and did little more than annoy them. The intrusions were becoming more and more frequent. Often Endymion had answered and did what he could to accommodate them, but he was off - - somewhere.  
  
"This place needs a doorman," grumbled Minako as she moved toward the door. Her hand closed around the knob. Just then, Rei's head snapped up.  
  
"Don't open it!" she yelled.  
  
Minako turned to her, puzzled, as she opened the door. In walked the last thing in the world Rei wished to face. She sprang to her feet and charged the intruder, though she could still feel her power over fire was weak due to her deprivations and her eruption on Knorr.  
  
"You have some nerve coming here!" Rei roared.  
  
"Hello, Rei," Dietman Hino said calmly and evenly, though his eyes smoldered with resentment at his daughter's disrespect. "I'm glad you survived."  
  
"What do you want?" Rei snarled.  
  
"I want to talk to your friend. I believe her name is Sailor Moon?"  
  
"It's Serenity now. And what do you want with her?"  
  
"I wish to discuss working with her to restore Tokyo - - perhaps all of Japan, if that's possible," Hino told his daughter. "She's certainly demonstrated the ability in the past to rescue us when we were all threatened. Although I have to admit, I didn't think she was strong enough to make all these fruit trees and vegetable plants grow. But that just means the possibilities are even greater."  
  
"And what do you get out of it?" Rei glared. Hino sighed.  
  
"Is she here?" he asked.  
  
"Answer my question!"  
  
"What I get out of it is the restoration of the greatest country in the world and an end to the suffering and misery of the people I was elected to represent and safeguard," snapped Hino with irritation. "I am Secretary General of the Diet and chair of the ruling party and it is my responsibility to explore any and all avenues to ensure or restore the health and safety of my constituency! And if you weren't so busy acting like a petulant little child, you'd see that!"  
  
Rei glared, stung. Ami moved it to try to mediate.  
  
"Hino-sama, your reasons are noble ones," Ami offered. "Unfortunately, Serenity's not here. No doubt she's out doing exactly what you're hoping she'll do."  
  
"It'd be better if she coordinated her efforts with the disaster relief command center that's been set up at Tokyo Stadium," Hino replied. "It's preferable to her acting on her own."  
  
"Why?" Minako asked suspiciously. "As long as she's helping people, why does she have to run it by you guys first?"  
  
"To avoid duplication of efforts, misallocation of resources and to maximize our effectiveness," Hino told her. Then he noticed Rei staring at him in that uncomfortable manner she'd had since she was thirteen, like she was looking into his soul. There was an awkward moment in which Dietman Hino couldn't think of what to do or say.  
  
Then Rei filled the silence.  
  
"You're afraid of her," she whispered. Heads turned toward him.  
  
"Nonsense," he replied.   
  
"You see what she can do. You see how the people respond to her. You see how the crowds out there have been growing almost by the hour. How they wait for her, clamor for her, hang on her every move - - how they see her as our only salvation - - and you're scared! Scared you'll lose the one thing you've worked and sacrificed and devoted your entire life to getting: Your political power base."  
  
"Rei, that's a hateful thing to say, even for you," Hino scowled.  
  
"It's all you've cared about your entire life: Your career! You gave up everything for it - - your scruples, your morals, - - your family! And now it's all melting away like the ice that held everybody prisoner! And while everybody's out there suffering and sweating to put all of this back together, you're scrambling to keep your power from running down the drain!"  
  
"I am trying to do what's best for the community," Hino began.  
  
"Like when you told everybody to stay inside until they could be evacuated!" Rei snarled. "How many people were trapped inside those buildings when they froze over? How many people died when those buildings collapsed onto their heads? How much blood is on your hands?"  
  
"Rei!" Ami said, forcing herself between them and holding her friend back. "I think that's enough." Rei glared at her friend. There was a moment where it looked like she would violently shove Ami away, but the moment passed.  
  
"No, let her go," Hino told Ami bitterly. "She's spent her entire life pointing out other people's mistakes. And yes," Hino continued, forcing his way past the emotion that clutched his vocal cords, "it was a mistake. And yes, I do have their blood on my hands. I did what I thought was best and I was wrong and thousands suffered for it. A good leader learns from his mistakes, though, and presses on to aid his people."  
  
The room was filled with an awkward silence.  
  
"I know you condemn me for it, Rei, just like you condemn me for everything short of Hiroshima. But if your precious Serenity does decide to seize power, or even if the people decide to give it to her, some day she'll be faced with a choice just like the one I was faced with. And on that day we'll see just how much better she is than I am." Turning to Ami, Hino forced himself to calm. "Please convey my respect to Serenity and ask her to meet with me at her earliest convenience."  
  
Dietman Hino turned and left.   
  
"Poor man," sympathized Hayami. "It must not be very easy to be in his position right about now."  
  
"Don't let him con you," Rei said bitterly. "He mixes in just enough truth to sound sympathetic and believable. That's why he's such a great politician."  
  
* * * *  
  
Serenity and Kakyuu ventured through the ruins of the city until they found a secluded spot away from the destruction. It was the former botanical gardens of Tokyo and, aside from a collapsed arboretum and some felled trees that couldn't take the weight of the ice, seemed untouched by all of the destruction visited upon the city. The scenery was reborn, thanks to Serenity, though she'd take no credit for it. Kakyuu looked over to Serenity and noticed how relaxed she'd become.   
  
"Such vistas of flora please you," she commented.  
  
"Yes," smiled Serenity. "I've always thought gardens and forests were just so pretty. There's something about natural scenes that just seem so - - well, natural." Serenity blushed. "Boy, that sounded SO articulate."  
  
"Usagi," Kakyuu began patiently.  
  
"And it's so ironic, because I've always been all thumbs when it came to gardening. Everything I tried to grow just, well, died."  
  
"Usagi, there is no need to constantly devalue your efforts," Princess Kakyuu told her. "I do not think you arrogant." Serenity looked down, embarrassed. "As to your efforts, you need only look around you and see all the fruit trees and vegetable plants that grow at your behest, all the flowers and greenery that once more live. Perhaps before you tried too hard, anticipating that you would fail. Perhaps you need only act anticipating you will succeed."  
  
"But the stakes are so much higher now," Serenity replied. "We're not just talking about a garden."  
  
"I know this. You hear the cries. You feel the pain of your people, not just here but across the globe. I hear them as well. And you wonder, with your mind still grounded in that clumsy young girl who could do nothing right save love life, if you can help them." She clasped Serenity's hands and held them tight. "You can."  
  
"I believe you," Serenity said, eyes averted. "You know so much more than I do, I'd be silly not to." She raised her head, her eyes filled with teetering confidence. "What do I have to do?"  
  
"What do you wish to do?" Kakyuu asked gently.  
  
"Well, Shingo said people need shelter. I guess we should start with that."  
  
"A good choice. It will not be an easy task, Usagi. Do you feel up to it?"  
  
"I don't know. Last time I tried something like this, I almost - - well, you know."  
  
"Do not fear. I shall join my energies to yours should you falter." Princess Kakyuu smiled at Serenity. It was a playful smile, full of joy and fun, and yet behind it was deep, earnest emotions. "You have become a great friend to me in the short time I have known you. I should not wish anything dire to happen to such a great friend." Then her smile took on a mischievous glint. "And I doubt Seiya would forgive me should I allow anything to happen to you - - nor would your friends, particularly your Uranus and Neptune." Serenity only looked at her perplexed, for the comment had sailed over her head. "Do not fear. I will aid you. And if you feel yourself becoming overtaxed, you are permitted to stop. Ten bites will finish a pie just as permanently as one."  
  
"Obviously you've never seen me eat," grinned Serenity. Kakyuu smiled back, amused by the joke, though there was no way she should know why it was funny. Then she took Serenity's hands and brought them up so their arms were level with their chests.  
  
"It is as before," Kakyuu instructed. "Concentrate on what you wish to happen and then allow the energy to flow from deep inside of you. Above all, believe you can do it. And remember I am here and will aid you if you need it."  
  
Serenity nodded. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then began to concentrate.  
  
"Not too hard," Kakyuu prodded softly. "Be as the feather floating in the wind. Do not force the power. Let it flow from you."  
  
Nodding, Serenity took another breath and concentrated on the feather analogy. A calmness washed over her. She could feel the power of the Silver Crystal glowing in her chest. It seemed even easier now than before when she grew all the fruit and vegetables. She opened her eyes, wanting to tell Princess Kakyuu. To her amazement, they were fifty meters in the air. Startled, Serenity immediately began to struggle to maintain altitude.  
  
"Calm, Usagi," Kakyuu said gently. "Be as the feather."  
  
Chagrined, Serenity nodded and thought of the feather. Immediately she stabilized in the air. Recalling Kakyuu's instructions and the sensations she recalled from the time before, Serenity focused on her vision. She saw a city restored to what it had been. The power flared brilliant within her and immediately began to hurt. Serenity tensed.  
  
Continued in Chapter 7 


	7. A Feather In The Wind

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 7: "A Feather In The Wind"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
"Daddy?" young Ichiro asked, leaning on his father. "When are we going home?"  
  
The boy liked leaning on his father. His father was strong and massive and could defeat any menace that might harm him. And his mother was the famous Sailor Jupiter and whatever menace his father couldn't handle, she could. Life intimidated him sometimes, but never when he could feel his father or his mother next to him.  
  
But recent events had shaken even that vestige of security for Ichiro Ikegami. There seemed to be no safe place, no secure sameness anymore. Not even the strength and warmth of his father's arm could make him forget about the ice monsters and sinking into the cold blackness, and being afraid that he'd never come up again. And if, somehow, they could all just go home, be in familiar surroundings and be a family again and not refugees, maybe he could forget about how scary it was to go through that.  
  
"You want to go back to the restaurant?" Sanjuro asked him curiously.  
  
"No, not the restaurant," Ichiro said, struggling to make his father understand. "I want to go HOME. I want us all to be home. Can't we go home?"  
  
Sanjuro looked at his son helplessly. "I don't think it's there anymore, son."  
  
The boy buried his face into his father's side.  
  
"Hey, it'll be all right. We'll build a new home. You and me, and your mom and your sister, we all made it through. And we'll start over again."  
  
"Will it be like it was before?" sniffed the boy.  
  
"Maybe not. A lot of things won't be the same. But some things will be better. You'll see."  
  
"How do you know?" the child whimpered. Helplessly Sanjuro searched his mind for an answer, but at the moment he was coming up short. Then Ami's husband, Hayami, eased over and sat down next to them.  
  
"Ichiro?" the squat, plain man said, squinting because he lacked his glasses. "You remember me, don't you?"  
  
"You're Uncle Hayami, aren't you?" Ichiro replied.  
  
"That's right. And you should listen to your father. He's right. Life may not be the same as it was, but some things will be better - - and some things won't change at all."  
  
"How do you know?" Ichiro repeated.  
  
"Because life's always changing. Does your Mom have a garden?"  
  
"No. But Auntie Rei does, at the shrine."  
  
"And it's a pretty garden, isn't it?" Ichiro nodded. "But it changes in the fall, doesn't it? And it changes again in the winter. And it's not as nice, is it?" Ichiro shook his head. "But it blooms again in the spring. And it's never exactly the same two years in a row, is it? But it's always pretty." He put his hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Our life is in winter right now. It's not very pretty now, but something will grow from this. It might be different from what you're used to, but it can be just as pretty if we work hard and give it a chance to grow."  
  
"How do you know?" Ichiro asked.  
  
"Because that's the way life is, Ichiro," Hayami grinned, his ordinary face taking on a satisfied glow. "That's the way it's always been. I know, because I've seen it. You see a lot in thirty-five years."  
  
Ichiro still seemed skeptical.  
  
"Ichiro," Hayami persisted. "My grandfather used to tell me stories about another time when he went through something like this. My grandfather was a boy during World War II and during that time he went through his own terrible winter. For a time it looked like he was never going to see the springtime. But he saw Japan's springtime. He told me it was so different from the old times, but that in its own way it was beautiful. He lived to be eighty-one, my grandfather." Hayami paused, as if listening to someone. "He says you shouldn't be afraid. You'll see your springtime, too."  
  
"He's here?" gaped Ichiro.  
  
"All our ancestors walk with us," Hayami smiled. "Didn't Sensei tell you that at the shrine?" Ichiro nodded vigorously. "So don't be afraid."  
  
Ichiro leaned back onto his father. He looked around the room, as if he was trying to see the grandparents he'd never met, the ones that his mother always talked about. Sanjuro patted Hayami on the arm and mouthed a thank you.  
  
In another part of the room, Ami leaned over to Rei and said, "Is my guy something special or what?"  
  
"He's got a way about him, that's for sure," grinned Rei. Then she glanced wickedly over at her friend. "Now if you could get him to stop undressing me with his eyes."  
  
"He undresses me with more than just his eyes," Ami replied proudly.   
  
Rei gaped in shock at Ami. "Ami, listen to you!" Then she shook her head. "I can remember when you were too embarrassed to even say the word 'sex'! Just where did that shy young girl go?"  
  
"She grew up," grinned Ami. "And she found out just what she was missing." Rei nudged her with a sympathetic gleam in her eye.  
  
Suddenly Rei stiffened. Knowing her friend, Ami looked on with mounting concern.  
  
"Rei, what is it?" she whispered, trying not to let the others hear. "Is it more trouble? Is it Serenity?"  
  
Rei only stared off into space, her face painted with anxiety.  
  
* * * *  
  
Sailor Star Fighter looked on as her Princess and her true love elevated into the sky. They slowly revolved as one as they rose, as if orbiting around each other. The senshi from the stars looked on, unable to shake the premonition of - - not disaster, but of something she wouldn't like. Not that there was much about this trip she liked. Seeing her wonderful "Odango" again after all these years hurt enough, for she knew the woman loved another. To see her so far beyond her now in her "Serenity" form, as her princess was beyond her in power and scope and evolution, was the crushing blow. Before there was some slim hope, but now . . .  
  
The senshi turned around and found Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune behind her. That they had approached unnoticed was bad enough, but it was attributable as much to their skill as her preoccupation. The fact that they were here probably meant nothing good for her. But Sailor Star Fighter never backed away from anything, so she turned and met them face to face.  
  
"What are they doing?" Neptune asked as Uranus glared sullenly.  
  
"Precisely?" retorted Star Fighter. "I have no idea. Knowing them as I do, I imagine they're trying to help your people."  
  
With a rush that caught even Star Fighter unprepared, Uranus pushed forward and shoved Star Fighter to the ground. She stood over the prone senshi, towering menacingly.  
  
"I don't like your tone," Uranus announced, daring Star Fighter to object. Star Fighter started to push to her feet, with Uranus waiting for anything the woman might wish to throw at her. However, Neptune interceded, holding Uranus back with an arm and allowing Star Fighter to regain her feet.  
  
"Uranus," Neptune whispered sternly. She turned to Star Fighter. "We just want to understand why you're here."  
  
"We're trying to help your people," fumed Star Fighter irritably. "Don't you two understand debts of honor?"  
  
Uranus started to lunge, but Neptune restrained her.   
  
"Debt of honor?" Neptune questioned. "For her help against Galaxia?"  
  
"You make it sound like she helped an old woman out of her chair," frowned Star Fighter. "Your Sailor Moon saved the universe that day! You saw with your own eyes the death and destruction Galaxia visited upon your world! And what she did here wasn't a tenth of what she did to Kinmoku or a hundred other worlds! And my princess knew Sailor Moon was our only hope, even when I doubted. I'm not the fastest learner in the universe, but even I can see what we owe her! And my princess certainly can, because she knew from the start! Yet you two can only be suspicious of conspiracies."  
  
"All right," Neptune said placidly, though Star Fighter could tell she was anything but placid in this instance, "I'll accept that explanation - - for her."  
  
"What are you doing here?" Uranus asked, finishing Neptune's thought.  
  
"I'm here at the behest of my Princess," Star Fighter replied coldly. "That's all the explanation either of you need."  
  
"You're not here trying to get lucky?" Uranus persisted. "Thinking maybe you can pick up where you left off? If so, it'll be a lot tougher this time around. You can't sneak around behind Mamoru's back this time. He's here this time." Uranus never looked away as she spoke, keeping her eyes trained on Star Fighter the entire time. "And I'm still here."  
  
The look Sailor Star Fighter gave Sailor Uranus told Sailor Neptune that the woman would gladly spontaneously combust in an orgy of fire that would consume her if she only had the chance to take Uranus with her. Once again it made her feel bad to be the one who had to ask the questions nobody wanted to ask. But she had to know if Princess Kakyuu was as sincere as she came across. Besides she knew the look in Star Fighter's eye, the look that was still there and still as strong as it was twenty years ago. And she had no guarantee Crystal Tokyo would come to be if it was destined to be ruled by Queen Serenity and Queen Seiya.  
  
"I think we've each made our positions clear," Neptune interjected, pulling everyone back from the precipice. "Come on, Uranus. We still have people to help."  
  
The pair was about to leave. Suddenly Uranus stopped, listening to a light gust of wind. Neptune sensed something as well, as did Star Fighter, but Uranus seemed more tuned into whatever was coming, so Neptune looked to her partner for clarification.  
  
Uranus suddenly looked up into the sky. Neptune followed, as did Star Fighter. There was a wave of energy and Neptune felt it pass through her, making her uneasy. She didn't know what was causing it.  
  
"It's Dumpling," Uranus whispered, as if in reply.  
  
* * * *  
  
Artemis found Luna perched out on the window sill of their shelter's second floor. The black cat looked down on the milling crowd around the husk of a building, enraptured with curiosity. The white cat eased up as close to her as he dared, though nothing short of actual contact was close enough for him. Luna tilted her head slightly toward him to acknowledge his presence.  
  
"What do you suppose they want?" Luna mused.  
  
"Maybe they heard Minako was here and they want an autograph," quipped Artemis. Luna responded with one of her acid glares and Artemis smothered a grin. Once more he'd managed to get a rise out of her. "They're probably waiting for Serenity. They probably figure she's their best chance at getting back what they've lost and they want to be first in line."  
  
"Human sloth," scowled Luna. "They should be out rebuilding or pulling out the dead and giving the poor souls a proper burial."  
  
"There's enough people doing that," Artemis told her. "Everyone has their job in life, Luna. For some, it's standing around looking lost so other people know someone needs help."  
  
"You've always had the oddest way of looking at things," Luna commented. Her words sounded reproachful, but only half-hearted. Her expression even seemed mildly amused. Encouraged, Artemis swallowed and took a deep breath to steady himself.  
  
"Luna," he began. "In the park - - when that Frost Giant got us. Just before I froze, I-I said something."  
  
Luna smiled. "Artemis, I don't take stock in proposals made under duress."  
  
It wasn't what Artemis wanted to hear. "Well," he stammered. "All right then. No duress now. Luna, will you . . .?"  
  
"Artemis," Luna said uncomfortably. "Please don't."  
  
"But," he sputtered. "Why? You said you loved me."  
  
"I-I do."  
  
"Well, I love you. What's the problem?"  
  
Luna looked away. She seemed to want to be anywhere but there.  
  
"Is there someone else?" Artemis asked.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," scowled Luna.  
  
"Then what is it? Don't you think I'm good enough?"  
  
"Of course not! I'm," Luna began. "Artemis, you're asking for a commitment that I'm not ready to make just yet."  
  
"When?"  
  
"When? Do you want me to set up a timetable for you? I don't know, Artemis! This is hardly the time to think about such things, either! Usagi is at a critical crossroads in her life! She needs my guidance now more than ever!"  
  
"I've seen you multi-task with the best of them, Luna. Stop hiding behind Usagi. What's the real reason?"  
  
"Well - - we're hardly compatible, you know!"  
  
"We're not?"  
  
"Certainly not. As admirable as I find you, there are things you do that just drive me 'round the bend! And I don't doubt that there are things about me that you find equally irritating. And to enter into a commitment with such things hanging over our hopes of happiness - - well there's just too much chance of poisoning what we have. And I don't want to risk that." She peeked back at him. "You see, I've hurt you. Can you imagine something like this happening if we were more permanently attached?"  
  
Artemis stared at her, wounded. "There's risk to any relationship, Luna, but it's a risk I'm ready to take. The things I like about you outweigh the things I don't, by a huge margin. Obviously I don't measure up the same in your eyes."  
  
"Artemis, please," pleaded Luna. "Don't take it that way. It isn't you it's me! I'm - - so very frightened that I'll do something to turn you against me. I don't want to risk it because I don't want to endure such a thing. I don't trust myself with your feelings. That should be quite obvious by the mess I'm making of all this! Perhaps someday I can. We all have the capacity for growth. I beg you, please bear with me. The thought of losing you is quite abhorrent to me. It isn't that I don't want to, it's that I can't trust myself yet to make you happy. And it's better that we have a-a means of escape if something should happen." She turned away with trepidation. "However, if you feel you can't abide such a stance, I fully understand."  
  
The silence between them seemed to linger. For Luna, it was sheer torture, but she held her tongue.  
  
"Well," Artemis said in a soft voice and Luna cringed, "they say nothing worth having ever comes easily."  
  
Luna turned back to him, daring to hope.  
  
"You're probably the only thing in the universe that's actually worth all of this grief," she heard the white cat say.  
  
Luna sprang up and rubbed foreheads with Artemis.  
  
"I promise I'll make this up to you," she sniffed. "Please be patient with me. I will say 'yes' one day, I swear it!"  
  
"You better," grinned Artemis. "You don't want to leave little Diana without a mother, do you?"  
  
"I shant," Luna smiled sheepishly. "If anything, I'm ready to be her mother this very moment. When I'm ready to be your wife, the wife you deserve, then I'll say 'yes'."  
  
"All right," nodded Artemis. Then he glanced around. "You know, if you really are ready to be her mother . . ."  
  
"Don't press your luck, Artemis," Luna said sourly, though inside she was laughing.  
  
And reality rippled around them. Instantly both cats were on their feet. They looked around and saw that the gathered crowd also felt the energy wave pass through.  
  
"Artemis, what was that?" Luna asked.  
  
"I don't know, but I think we better find out and quick," Artemis replied.  
  
* * * *  
  
Usagi felt fear once more. She could feel the strain like she did previously when she grew fruit and vegetables all over the world, then collapsed. Panic began to swell in her breast and she thought for a moment about fleeing, flinging the power away and never returning to it.  
  
"I am here, Usagi," she heard in her mind and knew it was Kakyuu. "Do not be afraid."  
  
"It hurts, Kakyuu!" Serenity thought back.  
  
"Then you are attempting too much too soon again." Kakyuu was silent for a moment. "You cannot rebuild every structure the way it was all over the globe in a single attempt. You are straining beyond your ability to recover."  
  
"What do I do?" Serenity pleaded silently.  
  
"Simplify. You must choose to restore smaller sections of the world or to rebuild everything into more simple, more uniform structures."  
  
"Which one do I choose?"  
  
"That choice must be yours."  
  
Serenity bit her lip, turning over the prospects in her mind. Her mentor waited patiently, using her power to support Serenity's life force while the woman considered. At once Serenity made a decision and Kakyuu pulled back to let her function unimpeded.  
  
It was just a thought, but an energy wave fanned out from Serenity with that thought and at the speed of thought. It spread over Tokyo, over the surrounding rural lands, over other cities and towns in Japan. The wave continued to extend, into Asia, across the ocean to North America, down to Australia and South America, on to Europe and Africa. To Serenity it seemed no more of an exertion than squeezing a lemon. But the evidence was clear to her wondrous eyes.  
  
The broken structures of businesses and offices remained. But every house had been replaced, rebuilt into a new abode. They all looked the same, a bland white and oval-shaped, like so many eggs sitting in a cardboard tray. Here and there, where high-rise apartments had stood, were giant white pillars, box-like abodes stacked atop one another like a child would stack blocks. But they were solid and functional shelters for people to live in. They were nests where people could be safe and secure while they worked to rebuild the rest of their lives.  
  
"Hey," Serenity grinned. "I did it!"  
  
"You certainly did," smiled Kakyuu.  
  
"They're not much to look at," the woman scowled.  
  
"All things in time, Usagi. Your people now have a haven from the elements and a hearth to call their own. What they do with it from here on is up to them. You see, not only have you given your people a shelter to call their own when before they had none, but you have also given them a blank canvas upon which to mold the new home of their dreams. You have not returned everything to them, but you have given them something and given them something to strive for beyond simple existence. Be proud of your work, Usagi."  
  
"OK," Serenity smiled sheepishly. Then she noticed Uranus, Neptune and Star Fighter below them. Instantly she swooped down to them, Kakyuu following behind.  
  
"Serenity!" gasped Neptune in wondrous surprise. "You rebuilt everyone's home for them?"  
  
"Yeah!" Serenity squealed. "And not just here, all over the world! I know they're not much . . ."  
  
"It's more than any of us had," Uranus grinned, that old familiar "older brother" look she used to give Sailor Moon. "More than some of them deserve. You did good, Dumpling. Um, am I still allowed to call you 'Dumpling'?"  
  
Serenity burst out laughing and threw her arms around Sailor Uranus, hugging her with wild abandon. No sooner had she let Uranus loose than she turned on Neptune and hugged her, too. Star Fighter looked on, slightly melancholy, but happy for her. Without warning, Serenity disengaged from Neptune and lunged at Sailor Star Fighter. Before the woman could move, she was caught in Serenity's grasp and tightly embraced.  
  
"Oh, I just love it when I can help people like this!" Serenity squealed, hugging Star Fighter to her. "Maybe being Serenity won't be so bad after all!"  
  
Star Fighter, though, seemed to want to be anywhere but here. She fidgeted in Serenity's grasp, trying to find a graceful means of escape. She didn't want to damage Serenity's euphoria, but at the same time hugging her was too painful. Then she noticed Kakyuu. In an instant she knew that Kakyuu could see her discomfort and understood, even sympathized. It gave her the strength to bury her feelings. She lightly wrapped her arms around Serenity and patted her on the back, amid wary looks from Uranus and Neptune.  
  
"I'm glad for you," Star Fighter whispered to Serenity.   
  
Continued in Chapter 8 


	8. Who Shall Lead

RESSURRECTION  
  
Chapter 8: "Who Shall Lead"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
Endymion entered the senshi central headquarters after a hard afternoon's work. He had been out all day, using his knowledge as a doctor and his power as the Prince of Earth to help treat the disease that inevitably sprang up on the heels of disaster and to locate, extricate and bury the mounting toll of dead. It was distasteful work, but it had to be done and he knew Serenity was far too delicate and easily upset to attempt it. That was their partnership: She reached for the stars and he sweated the details. If that was how it was to be from now on, he was willing so long as she continued to grace him with her smile.  
  
It was his first time inside the building after Serenity had reshaped the rubble into living quarters for everyone. What he saw amused him. Makoto was already decorating the drab gray-white walls with whatever she could scrounge or salvage. She spotted Endymion looking at her and blushed.  
  
"Well," she alibied, "I had to stay busy."  
  
"Everyone does what they can," Endymion replied. Just then Akiko ran in with an arm full of cloth.  
  
"How's this, Mom?" the girl asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.  
  
"That's nice," smiled Makoto. "Where'd you find it?"  
  
"It was in the back. There's a whole bunch of cloth in the back." She turned to Endymion. "Hi, Uncle Mamo-chan."  
  
"Honey, you call him 'Endymion' now," corrected Makoto.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because that's his name now."  
  
"Why'd you change your name, Uncle Mamo-chan?"  
  
Endymion smiled. "It's who I am now. It's like before, I was Tuxedo Mask. Now I'm Endymion. But if you still want to call me Uncle Mamo-chan, that's fine."  
  
"OK," shrugged Akiko. "Where's Auntie Usagi?"  
  
"Why?" smirked Makoto. "You looking for another candy handout?"  
  
"No!" Akiko replied dramatically. "I want to see her do some more magic."  
  
"She just rebuilt the entire building! What more do you want?"  
  
"Well, I saw this guy once. He had two rings that were connected, and then they weren't connected anymore! I want to see if she can do THAT!"  
  
"Honey, don't be a bother to your aunt. And I told you, her name is Serenity now."  
  
"She said I could call her that!" Akiko replied indignantly. Makoto rolled her eyes.  
  
Wondering where she was himself, Endymion closed his eyes and probed out with his mind. Her silvery trail at once appeared and he walked off to follow it. He found her in one of the back rooms of the structure. She had fashioned a drawing table, perhaps out of nothing more than wishing hard, and was bent over it. Since becoming Endymion, the young man found his knowledge and perception seemed to increase exponentially from before. But this still surprised him.  
  
"Serenity," he asked, "what are you doing?"  
  
She looked up at him and her eyes lit up. "I'm so glad you're back. I'm working on the next issue of 'Fire Princess Rika'."  
  
Endymion continued to look confused.  
  
"It's to cheer everyone up," Serenity continued. "Everyone's so depressed and shell-shocked, and it's not surprising why with everything that's happened. And I want to do something to cheer everyone up, to get their minds off of their troubles for a little while." Serenity looked away, slightly guilty. "And, well, I - - did it for me, too. You know how drawing lets me relax. It's been such a roller coaster ever since the Frost Giants showed up. I needed a little bit of normal back in my life. And if I can make other people happy in the bargain, so much the better."  
  
Endymion crossed over to his wife and kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Draw away," he said, his hand on her shoulder. "I'll make sure no one disturbs you."  
  
Just then Akiko popped in the room.  
  
"Liar," grinned Serenity.  
  
"Auntie Usagi," she said. "There's somebody here to see you."  
  
"Oh?" Serenity said, rising from her drawing table. "Who is it?"  
  
Akiko shrugged. "I think she said she was from the government." The little girl noticed the page on the drawing table. "Oh, Fire Princess Rika!" She scampered over. "You're drawing another Rika story?" Serenity smiled and nodded. "Can I watch?"  
  
"Sure, Akiko-chan," Serenity replied. "But only when your Mom doesn't need you."  
  
"OK," scowled Akiko.  
  
"Oh, don't frown," Serenity chuckled. She made a fist and turned it palm down, then turned it over and opened her hand, revealing a piece of candy. Akiko's face lit up and she snatched it. Serenity patted Akiko's head and accompanied Endymion to the other room.  
  
"Dietwoman Togashi!" Serenity marveled, her face lighting up at the sight of the visitor.  
  
"Oh, come on now! I've told you to call me Momoko!" fussed the young woman, her violet eyes flashing with mock annoyance. "You don't have to be so formal, Usagi!"  
  
Momoko Togashi had come a long way since the days she scampered around with Chibi-Usa as pre-teens. The woman was thirty-two now, a former practicing attorney and was just beginning her second term as a representative to the Diet when the Frost Giants struck. She was also a compelling beauty, with a long, graceful body and long, elegant black hair flowing down and framing her placidly beautiful face. Momoko possessed the tranquil femininity that Japanese males had celebrated in art and fantasy since the dawn of their civilization. Many also noticed that Momoko moved through life like a stream, quiet and graceful. It was only when someone crossed her that they discovered the delicate flower had tiger's claws. Juggling a two-year-old son, a marriage to a successful stock trader and a promising career in the Diet had given Momoko some small fame. Her looks didn't hurt, but there was more to her than looks. Japan was just beginning to notice before the disaster came. Her old friends had watched from afar with silent approval.  
  
"Um, it is still OK to call you Usagi, right?" Momoko asked, fearful of having offended. If you looked hard enough, bits and pieced of the young hellion that had befriended Chibi-Usa could still be seen.  
  
"Actually, I'd prefer it," Serenity grinned, gathering the woman in her arms and hugging her. "Nobody else will let me get away with it, though. I'm so glad you made it through the attack all right." Serenity darkened. "Everything is all right, isn't it? Is your family . . .?"  
  
"Yes, Nozumo and little Masashi are fine, thank the gods," Momoko smiled. Then her smile dimmed. "But everything's not all right." Momoko paused like she was keeping the secret of the ages and debating whether to divulge it. Sensing trouble, Ami and Rei moved in closer. That only served to make Momoko more uncomfortable.  
  
"What is it, Momoko?" Serenity asked, touching the woman on the arm. Momoko seemed to calm some with her touch. "Please don't be afraid to tell me. After everything I've been through, there's not much you could say that could upset me."  
  
"It's not that simple, Usagi," Momoko replied. "I got into government to clean it up - - to make it responsive to the people again. It's been a tough fight. Sometimes I wonder if I can actually do anything - - and that was before all this happened. But I know I can't affect anything if I'm on the outside."  
  
"This could affect your career in the Diet?" Endymion asked. Momoko nodded. "How?"  
  
"If I tell you - - warn you about what's going on - - it could be perceived as a betrayal of trust by some powerful people."  
  
Instantly everyone sensed Rei's tension shoot up. Looking at her, they could see she'd been studying Momoko the entire time.  
  
"Such as the Secretary General of the Diet?" Rei asked. Momoko didn't respond because she didn't have to. Rei's mouth curled into a snarl. "What's my father done now?"  
  
"Rei, please," whispered Serenity.  
  
"Don't 'Rei, please' me!" snapped Rei. "None of you people know him like I do!"  
  
Serenity reached out a hand to touch Rei's shoulders. At the last moment, Rei flinched back and glared at Serenity.  
  
"What are you trying to do to me!" the priestess fumed.  
  
"I'm trying to calm you down," Serenity explained patiently. "Your feelings about your father always affect your judgment. And Momoko's in a very delicate, very trying situation. We don't need you going off about your father. We need to focus on helping her."  
  
Rei stared into Serenity's eyes. She'd felt the subtle mental energy that Serenity had radiated - - calming, soothing energy that for a moment caressed Rei's thoughts and tried to seduce them into a placid state. At the time, she thought Serenity had done it on purpose. Now she wondered if the woman even realized she'd done it. And even if she had, there had been no malicious intent behind it - - not with Usagi. Rei's shoulders relaxed some.  
  
"All right," Rei replied, giving a silent warning to Serenity not to do that again, a warning she wasn't sure Serenity picked up on. "I'm sorry I interrupted."  
  
"It's all right," Momoko said. "And you're right, it is Secretary General Hino."  
  
"What does he plan?" Ami ventured cautiously.  
  
Momoko searched her feelings, wrestling with the consequences of telling what she knew. After a long time, she looked up at Serenity. Serenity waited patiently, her expression communicating that no matter what Momoko decided it wouldn't affect their relationship. That convinced her.  
  
"The Secretary General," Momoko began, "has been meeting with surviving key members of the Diet and the Defense Ministry. They're working to reassemble the police force and civil defense forces under his command. Their stated purpose is to reestablish order in Tokyo and coordinate rescue and rebuilding efforts."  
  
"Yes, he was saying much the same thing to us when he was here earlier," Ami said.  
  
"It seems praiseworthy enough," Serenity added.  
  
"That would probably engender a period of martial law in the country," Endymion judged. "Are you concerned he won't relinquish it once the state of emergency is over?"  
  
"No," Momoko shook her head. "The thought did cross my mind, but I know the Secretary General and for all of his faults, he is a believer in the institution of democracy. That's not what has me concerned."  
  
"Then what?" asked Ami.  
  
Momoko dropped her head. "I found out he also plans to put a garrison here - - to make sure none of you 'interfere' with government efforts."  
  
"I don't want to interfere," Serenity gasped. "I'm just trying to help people."  
  
"He knows that," Rei told her. "That's not the problem, Serenity. You're getting too popular. He feels threatened. He doesn't want to lose the power he's taken so long to achieve. I read that in him when he was here earlier. He may believe in the institution of democracy, but he also believes that he's the best steward for that institution and he'll go to just about any length to protect that position. I know him well enough to know that."  
  
"So he's going to sit on us while he takes over the relief efforts," Endymion told Serenity. "He's making sure he gets identified as the savior of Japan and not you. That way he retains the power the people granted him."  
  
"I don't care about any of that!" wailed Serenity. "I just want to help people! I don't want to rule anybody! Let him be Secretary General! I don't care!"  
  
"A lot of the people seem to," Momoko told her. "Have you looked outside lately?"  
  
Turning first to Endymion and then to Ami and Rei in confusion, Serenity finally ventured for the door. She knew dozens of people had gathered there since they'd been thawed, though she couldn't understand why. Had something happened that she wasn't aware of?  
  
Her skirt flowing in a way that made it seem she was gliding, Serenity crossed to the door and opened it. She ventured out onto the porch and looked out. Her hand went to her throat. Thousands of people were gathered around the nondescript little domicile, waiting. It was like the crowds at one of Minako's concerts. A ripple of surprise and wonder passed through the crowd when they caught sight of her.   
  
Then a noise swelled from the gathered. It was applause, cheers, gratitude and praises. It was a cacophony of appreciation that rose like a wave and engulfed Serenity while she stood helpless before them, unable to muster any sort of response. She just stood there, surrounded by their adoration, wondering why they had singled her out. She felt Endymion next to her and turned to him.  
  
"Why are they cheering me?" she asked. "I didn't do that much."  
  
"You saved their lives. They're grateful," Endymion told her, amused by her confusion.  
  
"I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't do if they could!"  
  
"Once a goof, always a goof," sighed Rei. "Not everyone would have done what you did. But you did and they love you for it. Now say 'thank you', dimwit!"  
  
Serenity turned back to the crowd.  
  
"Thank you," she told them, her high voice barely carrying over the crowd. It hushed, the gathered hanging on her every word. "You really didn't need to do this. I only did what anyone would have done. I do appreciate it, though. But there's so much more that needs to be done - - so many more people who need help. And there are still those of us who didn't make it who need a proper service and a decent burial. Please don't waste anymore of your valuable time praising me. Please go and help someone else as I helped you. You'll make me so happy - - and you'll make yourselves even happier."   
  
If Serenity had intended that to disperse the crowd, it had the opposite effect. A cheer rose from the crowd, along with applause. Someone screamed out "Sailor Moon for Emperor" and the cry began to repeat and combine until it became a chant. Serenity grimaced, embarrassed and uncomfortable in the spotlight.  
  
But someone else watching was even more uncomfortable with the display than Serenity was.  
  
"ATTENTION!" bellowed a voice over a police bullhorn. "THIS IS TOKYO CIVIL DEFENSE! UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE ARTICLES OF MARTIAL LAW YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO DISPERSE! THIS AREA MUST REMAIN CLEAR FOR EMERGENCY AND CIVIL DEFENSE RELIEF VEHICLES! ALL CITIZENS ARE INSTRUCTED TO DISPERSE AND RETURN TO YOUR HOMES OR BUSINESSES!"  
  
Instantly boos and jeers swelled up from the crowd. Angry gestures and accusations greeted the line of police and civil defense guards dressed in black jumpsuits and riot helmets and carrying clear teflon shields. The mob began to chant "Let Her Be".   
  
"YOU ARE ORDERED TO DISPERSE!" the commander said through the bullhorn. He stood atop a Humvee that was still in working order and he seemed in no mood to tolerate disobedience. "THIS AREA MUST BE CLEARED AT ONCE! WE WILL NOT WARN YOU AGAIN!"  
  
As Serenity watched in horror, the crowd chanted louder and more angrily. It began to pulse with energy, threatening to surge forward at any time. Men and women snarled at the police, openly challenging them for their temerity. Others in the crowd were being buffeted about or swept into the budding conflict as the mass began to surge closer to the police line.  
  
And then, as always seems to happen, a rock flew from the crowd. It struck the shield of one of the officers. Instantly the police were ordered forward. The line advanced on the angry crowd and it acted as a match touched to the fuse of the mass.  
  
"Stop, everyone!" Endymion yelled to the crowd. "This isn't the way!" But the slap of boot on pavement and the angry denouncement of an angry mob drowned out his words.  
  
"They're going to get massacred," gasped Rei. Instantly she transformed to Sailor Mars. "Mars!" she shouted, her hand snapping to her side. "Flame . . .!" A hand, Serenity's hand, folded over her forearm and stopped her from forming her flaming bow. Mars glared at Serenity. "What are you doing?"  
  
"This isn't the way," Serenity told her.  
  
"Those people were cheering you just a few minutes ago!" Mars fumed. "Are you just going to stand by and let them get slaughtered?"  
  
Serenity looked at Mars with an expression of disappointment, perhaps at Mars' lack of faith. Then she closed her eyes and a calm overtook her.  
  
"PLEASE STOP!"   
  
Everyone heard it in their minds, from Ami, Endymion and Mars to the police and the crowd, to everyone around Tokyo and beyond the city limits. It was a sharp, insistent voice, but a non-threatening one. As one everybody from police to protester to senshi looked to her. Out of the corner of her eye, Ami spotted Princess Kakyuu and Sailor Star Fighter watching on the periphery. The others all saw Serenity, upset and embarrassed, trying to summon the courage to say more.  
  
"Please don't fight," she begged. "Not over this. The police are right. I appreciate all of your love and praise, I do. But everyone needs to go home now. You have lives to rebuild. And there are friends and neighbors who still need help, help that only you can give them. Yes, and even perfect strangers, for in helping them you may discover a friend you never knew before. That's what's important now."  
  
"Lead us!" pleaded a voice from the crowd, a voice that gathered several dozen ascents.   
  
"You don't need me to lead you. You already have a government, a government you put in place, a government that's trying to help at this moment. You don't need me to lead and I don't really want to lead. I just want to help people and I want you to help people, even if it's only one other person. Now please, go live your lives. Please don't waste time and energy with fighting. We can't afford it now, none of us. We have to stick together. Please?"  
  
Star Fighter stared, stunned, as the crowd's anger drained away. She turned to Kakyuu, but the woman only nodded passively. Hypnotized by Serenity's blue eyes and her plaintive voice and by the aura she seemed to blanket the crowd with, the group began to disperse. The tense situation evaporated. Though there was some obvious disappointment in the crowd, they slowly made their way back to familiar territory to begin reclaiming what had been their lives. Only a few stragglers remained.  
  
Bereft of a situation to manage and of the will to force a confrontation, many of the police and civil defense troops began loading back into their personnel carriers. True to Momoko's warning, though, a small detachment of police set up a command post in obvious view of the senshi quarters. Mars bristled, but said nothing. She looked around and noticed Momoko had disappeared during the confrontation. Perhaps, Mars reasoned, she didn't want to be spotted by the security forces.  
  
"Well you certainly diffused that situation," Ami commented.  
  
"Why does it always have to come to this?" Serenity moped. "Doesn't anyone see the situation we're all in? Don't they see we can only resolve it by working together and helping each other?"  
  
"Who can say?" Kakyuu answered. She, with Star Fighter flanking her, had glided up to Serenity unfazed by what had just occurred. "Individual perceptions are as many and varied as there are individuals. Perhaps they do realize deep in their hearts, Usagi. Perhaps they lack only a path to follow and a person to show them how to make it so."  
  
"I don't want to lead," Serenity reiterated. "I just want to draw my manga and make my husband happy." She felt Endymion's hands on her shoulders and was buoyed. Then she noticed Star Fighter grimace in pain.  
  
Kakyuu glided up to Serenity and took the woman's hands in hers.  
  
"You said before you wished only to help people," Kakyuu said. Serenity, eyes wide and confused, nodded. "Perhaps that is the best way to help them."  
  
Serenity looked down, clearly burdened by the thought.  
  
Continued in Chapter 9 


	9. Fire From The Sky

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 9: "Fire From The Sky"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
"You're certain she came this way?"  
  
It was unheard of, Michiru Kaioh questioning her Haruka's instincts. But these were strange and new times and Michiru's faith in just about everything had been shaken to the core. She still trusted Haruka with her life, trusted her to always be there when Michiru needed her. It was just that things were so topsy-turvy that she didn't have the security to believe unconditionally in anything anymore.  
  
"That's what the wind tells me," Haruka replied. If Haruka took offense, she didn't show it. Michiru slithered her hand into Haruka's and was grateful for the squeeze of reply.  
  
"We're headed for the lake in the park," Michiru judged. It was true. They were headed for the lake in the park, ground zero of the attack of the Frost Giants. "Do you think it's more trouble?"  
  
"I hope not. I hope we're finally free of it. I'm tired," Haruka replied. Then she got that cynical little grin that was at once ominous and so reassuringly Haruka. "It probably is, though."  
  
"There's that sunny outlook again," Michiru said with a twinkle in her eye. Haruka smiled, but let it pass. The time for banter was passed. Battle was coming.   
  
The pair turned past a pair of trees that had weathered the ice and saw her. Standing on the bank, near the collapsed rowboat dock that had extended into the lake, was a figure. She stared up into the sky, focused on nothing visible with intense concentration. Haruka andMichiru glanced at each other with concern, then approached the woman on the bank.  
  
"What do you see?" Michiru asked.  
  
"Everything and nothing," Sailor Pluto replied, for she was now and forever Sailor Pluto.  
  
"I didn't think you could get any more cryptic," Haruka snorted. "Guess I was wrong."  
  
"You deem anything you do not understand as cryptic," Pluto replied flatly, without malice, as if it were now beneath her. "Yet understanding only requires the proper key to decipher that which is cryptic."  
  
"Sorry. I left my keys in my other pants," Haruka said. "How about you lend me yours?"  
  
Pluto turned to Haruka. The sandy blonde could see her friend picked up on and appreciated the irony of Haruka's statement, but felt a response was beneath her as well. Instead, she communicated instantly what Haruka and Michiru dreaded most. And then she spoke it.  
  
"They are coming," Sailor Pluto said.  
  
"More Frost Giants?" Michiru asked.  
  
"No. The Frost Giants are beaten and in disarray, as are the sons of Ymir. They shall not return."  
  
"Then who is it?"  
  
Sailor Pluto only turned back to the sky.  
  
"I shall be first to meet them," was her only reply.  
  
"Then we'll be second and third," Haruka told her. She had her henshin stick in her hand. Michiru quickly followed suit.  
  
"I knew this," Pluto said, allowing herself a small satisfied smile. Then she turned back to her two old friends and fellow warriors. "There will soon come a time when we three must part. I will tell you this: No one has ever been so honored as I have to walk side by side with each of you. You have blessed me with your strength and your friendship."  
  
An ominous chill ran down the backs of the two women as they looked into Pluto's eyes.  
  
"No one has been as honored as we have to call you friend and comrade in arms," Michiru replied. Haruka nodded her assent.  
  
Haruka and Michiru transformed with an economy of movement. The three outer senshi looked to the heavens, awaiting the enemy they sensed would come.  
  
* * * *  
  
Seiya stared out at the city. It was now nothing more than a series of similar bumps across the landscape, interrupted like open sores by broken businesses and felled trees. The people dug through the rubble quietly or solemnly buried or burned the dead. The shock of destruction and their brush with death had been replaced by determination to clear away the destroyed and rebuild anew. Not everyone shared this idea - - there were still many who wandered about in a daze, or sat in despair, or stared at the place where Serenity resided from a discreet distance so as not to incur the wrath of the police. But more and more were recovering a sense of security in a sense of purpose.  
  
"It's strange," Seiya mused to herself. She had shed her Sailor Star Fighter guise, but had reverted to her natural female self rather than the male form she'd worn before. "So much of it's just like what happened on Kinmoku. I . . ." Then she sensed a presence. Turning, she found Serenity standing nearby. "Serenity," she gasped.  
  
"Do I have to go through that with you, too?" Serenity asked, playfully but with an undertone of hurt. "Can't I be 'Odango'?"  
  
"It's," Seiya flushed, turning away, "disrespectful."  
  
"I don't think so," Serenity smiled timidly, easing up to her. "It reminds me of our old times together - - of when we were friends." She smiled sheepishly. "You know, back when you were a guy? I still don't really get that."  
  
Seiya remained silent, for fear her tongue would betray her.  
  
"Maybe you don't want to remember those times, though," she heard Serenity say. Turning, she saw the melancholy in the woman's sweet face. "I know you wanted to be more than friends. It took a while, but I did figure it out. I'm sorry I love Mamo-chan - - Endymion, but I just can't help it."  
  
"You don't need to apologize," Seiya whispered. "We love who we must. My princess has counseled me that I must accept this. I do accept this."  
  
"But it's hard. I know. Why I remember once when I thought Mamo-chan was in love with Unazuki. I just wanted to quit living right then and there. I think I would have accepted it eventually, for his sake, but I never would have stopped hurting." Serenity lightly caressed Seiya's cheek. "I wish I could make your pain go away."  
  
"You'd have to strike yourself from my memory to do that," Seiya said, her hand covering Serenity's. "And I'd only be worse off, because then I'd have no memory of you at all. I'd still hurt - - I just wouldn't know why." She took Serenity's hands in hers and pressed them to her chest. "You are happy with him?" Reluctantly Serenity nodded. "Then I'm happy. Though I would have given anything to have heard three particular words from you on that rooftop in the rain so many years ago, I see it wasn't to be. What allows me to accept this is knowing that you're happy."  
  
"Seiya, I," Serenity began. Seiya squeezed her hands gently.  
  
"Once more the wisdom of my princess dawns upon me. Late, but it does dawn. I left with so many questions still between us - - so many things unspoken. I'm only able to see that now that she's dragged me back here from my safe cocoon of wounded feelings and forced me to face you again." She brought Serenity's hands up to her mouth and kissed them. "I love you, Odango. I always have. I always will." Her features darkened. "And it's only because I love you so much that I let you go - - because your happiness is more important than mine."  
  
"This isn't the way I thought this was going to work out," Serenity said sadly. "You being sad, I mean."  
  
"Few things do. I've learned that in the years since I was an arrogant little girl who thought she was so powerful and so righteous."  
  
"Humility's a tough pill to swallow," Serenity smiled wistfully. "We've both had to learn that over the years. Still, I wish I could split myself into two so you could have someone to love you back."  
  
"Then you'd have to split yourself into a billion of you so everyone could have one," Seiya said, "because that's how many love you." She kissed Serenity's hands again, then released them. "Go to your love, Odango. Go before he sees us together and assumes we're cheating on him." Seiya forced a smile onto her face. "If that happens, he's liable to attack me. Then I'd have to hurt him and you'd be crushed."  
  
Serenity gave Seiya a cynical smirk. "You're not fooling anybody." She grasped Seiya's hands. "Find someone else. I don't want you to be lonely."  
  
Seiya nodded. Serenity turned, head down, and walked away. Seiya watched her disappear into the headquarters.  
  
"She won't be you," Seiya whispered.  
  
* * * *  
  
Three watched. Three waited. One was slightly more impatient than the other two.  
  
"I don't suppose you know when this new threat is going to come?" grumbled Sailor Uranus. "Frankly this standing around makes me itch."  
  
"Patience," Pluto replied.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, patience. How long will that take?" Uranus shot back. She was only partially joking.  
  
A hand clutched onto the forearm of Sailor Uranus. She glanced over to Neptune, who possessed the hand, curiously.  
  
"Is it my imagination," Neptune asked, "or is the temporal nexus shimmering?"  
  
"You are not mistaken," Pluto replied calmly.  
  
"Well, Uranus, here comes your action."  
  
The trio watched as the sky seemed to tear apart like a seam bursting. Uranus and Neptune backed into defensive stances. Pluto stood her ground placidly, as if she knew what was coming. In Neptune's judgment she probably did. When the hole in the sky opened enough, fire shot out of it. This wasn't what Uranus and Neptune expected. Cries of alarm and panic rose from the people in the park.  
  
"Deep Submerge!" Neptune called out.   
  
Her tidal wave rose up and slammed into the fire, instantly converting into a gigantic steam cloud. In a moment the area was blanketed with thick hot steam that immediately began to condense back into water onto the grass and pavement below.  
  
"It's not putting that fire out!" Uranus judged.  
  
"I was hoping it would at least get whatever that is to back away - - think twice about coming through!" Neptune told her partner.  
  
The steam cloud dissipated enough to let them see again. They could see the fire wasn't just random flame, but a living creature made of fire. A head pulled through the gap in the sky, accompanied by two arms. It was a massive burning lump with darker patches that resembled eyes and a mouth. It roared defiantly down at them and the sound shook what windows had survived the ice or had been recreated by Serenity.   
  
"Your strategy was sound," Pluto commented. "You merely lacked the power to make it work."  
  
"It's time for answers, Pluto!" snapped Uranus. "What are those things?"  
  
"Can you not deduce it?" Pluto asked. "Do you know nothing of mythology?"  
  
"Enlighten us," Neptune replied patiently.  
  
"They are the other sworn enemies of the children of Ymir, King of the Frost Giants, other than humanity. They are the children of Surt, or Surter, Lord of fire in Nordic myth. They are the Fire Giants."  
  
"Just great," frowned Uranus.  
  
The great fire beast stepped out of the rip in the sky and extended a limb to the ground. Beneath its fiery foot grass and rice plants withered and scorched and water turned to steam. Waves of heat radiated out from the giant, making the already warm July day uncomfortably hot. The giant gained its balance on two feet and turned toward the three senshi, mocking them with its triumph.  
  
Uranus scowled.  
  
"World Shaking!" she bellowed and tossed gathered geo-force at the flaming being. It exploded with the force of an earthquake into the giant, staggering the great beast back. The concussion nearly snuffed its fire out altogether. Instantly Neptune joined the fray.  
  
"Deep Submerge!" she called out, inundating the Fire Giant with another smothering tidal wave of water. With its flame at low ebb, the giant was easily swept under by the wave. When it dissipated, the giant was on its back, its fire out. However telltale steam rising from the body of the great giant warned that it was close to igniting.  
  
It would never get the chance. Leaping in, heedless of any potential risk, was Sailor Uranus, brandishing the Space Sword. It mattered not to her that at any second the Fire Giant could ignite and instantly immolate her. She landed with the grace of a dancer on the giant's chest and took two steps toward its head before swinging her sword. The sweep of the sword decapitated the Fire Giant with little trouble. Panting, Uranus turned and looked back to Neptune.  
  
"We've got to get Usagi," Neptune judged, speaking the thoughts that were on Uranus's mind. "She's got to close that rift once and for all before more of those things come through."  
  
"She cannot close it permanently," Pluto told them. "Even our Queen, for all her great ability, cannot perform that task. And you are too late, regardless."  
  
Pluto pointed with her staff to the sky. Uranus and Neptune looked up and saw two more Fire Giants trying to shove their way through the rift.  
  
* * * *  
  
The four senshi were gathered back in the temporary headquarters. The efforts of the Civil Defense forces had made it too much of a hassle to do anything effective. So they waited for Serenity to emerge from her room to plan strategy. That gave them the chance for some farewells.  
  
"You kids ready to go?" Sanjuro asked. The pair looked immediately to Makoto.  
  
"Isn't Mommy coming with us?" Ichiro asked.   
  
  
  
"I've got to stay here for a little while longer," Makoto said, kneeling down to the level of her children. "I need to make sure your Aunt Serenity's going to be safe. OK?"  
  
Ichiro nodded, even though it was clear to everyone that it wasn't. Akiko scowled and cuffed the back of his head with her hand.  
  
"Stop making Mom feel bad!" Akiko growled.  
  
Makoto responded by smacking the top of Akiko's head with her hand.  
  
"I've told you about hitting your brother, haven't I?" Makoto snapped.  
  
"Well if he wouldn't be such a sissy!" fussed Akiko.  
  
"I'M NOT A SISSY!" howled Ichiro.  
  
Sanjuro knelt behind the two children and encircled them in his massive arms, holding the combatants both at bay.  
  
"Your brother's just going to miss his Mom," Sanjuro said with a soft, soothing voice. He eased his mouth to Akiko's ear. "Just like you will, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Akiko reluctantly admitted.  
  
"Now, that doesn't make you a sissy, does it?"   
  
Akiko shook her head.  
  
"You know, you don't have to go," Rei told them. "You're not imposing."  
  
"Well," Sanjuro began, rising up to full height, "I was wandering around and I noticed some people beginning to work on their shelters - - fixing them up, salvaging mementos and furniture, trying to put their lives back together. And I kind of thought it was about time I started putting this family's life back together." He smiled to himself. "It's funny how many reactions you see to what's happened. Some folks haven't gotten over it yet. Some may never get over it. But there's so many people out there who are digging in and trying to rebuild what they lost - - and so many others trying to help other people rebuild, just because it's the right thing to do."  
  
"Yeah, and they're not even wearing sailor fukus," grinned Makoto.  
  
"And the minute they bend over, somebody else'll pick their pocket," Minako added, glancing out the window.  
  
"Cynic!" Makoto huffed.  
  
"There's still a lot of pain in this city - - this world," Endymion said, rising from the sphinx-like mood he had been in. "There's still much to be done. But the initial shock is wearing off. We are emerging from the rubble of our past lives, the children of this world, and beginning down the path to our future. We have taken the challenge and passed."  
  
"Good. I wasn't sure there for a while. Maybe that means I can get started on rebuilding the restaurant," Sanjuro added. "Because good or bad, people need to eat." He glanced playfully at Makoto. "Besides, once Makoto gets home and gets started redecorating, it's best to clear a wide path." Makoto gave him a mock glare while the other three women giggled in unison and Hayami covered his mouth to conceal his smile.  
  
The sound of emergency vehicles cut through the afternoon air, bringing everyone to a halt. Now, so soon after the great tragedy, the sound was greeted with more than the indifference of the past. Now it brought thoughts of concern to some, worry to others, for it brought the fears that of what could happen again bubbling to the surface.  
  
"It sounds like there's a lot of them," Makoto commented. Her eyes instantly sought out her children. When she noticed the tension in Ichiro's expression, she knelt next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe it's just a fire."  
  
"Maybe my father found another pocket of freedom that needed to be crushed," groused Rei.  
  
"I hope no one's hurt," Ami sighed with just a little more consternation than anyone expected. "The medical resources of this city are stretched beyond capacity now."  
  
"Hey, guys," Minako said, peering out the window. "I see smoke. It looks like it might be coming from the park." She turned to her comrades. "You suppose the Secretary General would mind if we have a look?"  
  
Before anyone could answer, Minako noticed Endymion peering in the direction of the park. He seemed to see what was going on, even though he was staring at the west wall of the building.  
  
"What is it, Endy?" Minako asked. Ami gave her yet another disapproving glance for her familiarity.  
  
Suddenly Serenity appeared at the door. She had just returned from constructing a memorial marker for her friend, Naru, and retired to the room she and Endymion shared. Everyone had given her a wide berth, out of respect, but now all eyes turned to her. When Endymion looked at her, something passed between them.  
  
"Well let us in on it!" Minako protested. "Is something up? Are we needed again?"  
  
Serenity glided to the door, focused solely on what she and Endymion saw. Endymion followed, his attire changing as he walked from the pastel gray tuxedo he'd previously worn to the black armor they were all more familiar with.  
  
"I'd say that's a big fat yes," scowled Minako. She and the others rose to follow, their henshin sticks materializing in their hands.  
  
"Mommy?" they heard Ichiro wail. They turned to him and could see the apprehension in the child's face. It was a knife to their hearts, Makoto's most of all. She came back and knelt down to the boy.  
  
"I have to go, Ichiro honey," she whispered, caressing the boy's face with her hand. "I have to go fight the bad guys again." Seeing the fear in her son's face brought tears to Makoto's eyes. "I'll come back to you. I promise. You stay here with Daddy. He'll keep you safe."  
  
Pensively the boy nodded. Makoto reluctantly stood up and joined the others outside.  
  
"Maybe I need to quit doing this," mumbled Makoto as she transformed to Sailor Jupiter.  
  
"Like we've got a choice," Venus told her. "You've just got too much responsibility." She grinned playfully. "Tell you what - - if Ichiro's too much for you, I'll take him off your hands."  
  
"Over my dead body, Blondie," Jupiter scowled back in jest.  
  
Floating while the others had to walk, Serenity easily outdistanced Endymion and her senshi. She hardly noticed, so intent was she on what she sensed. Unnoticed, a hand reached out and grasped hers. Startled, Serenity turned.  
  
"You sensed it as well," Kakyuu stated, a judgment rather than a question.  
  
"Something's here," Serenity nodded. "Something that means us harm. Oh Kakyuu, why so soon after what happened before? We've only just begun to pick up the pieces from last time!"  
  
"Why does the crafty predator lie in wait for two foes to battle, only to attack the winner at its low ebb?" Kakyuu replied. "They do not see the grand scope of the universe as we do, Usagi. They see only victory and death, death and victory." Serenity looked down, stricken. "What would you do now?"  
  
"Show them the error of their ways," Serenity replied as they flew forward. "Help them if I can, but stop them from harming others if nothing else." She looked up to Kakyuu and saw the smile of approval from her mentor.   
  
"You shall not act alone in this," Kakyuu told her. "If you will have me, I would act by your side. Perhaps together we may prevent even more destruction and misery more quickly." Serenity smiled hopefully and nodded.  
  
Then a jolt passed through Serenity. Kakyuu felt it to a lesser extent and winced. She recovered enough to steady Serenity so the woman didn't fall to the ground. Serenity looked up at her as if she'd witnessed a great tragedy.  
  
"We've got to hurry!" Serenity gasped.  
  
"I know," Kakyuu nodded. Together they sped off.  
  
Knowing her princess as she did, Sailor Star Fighter saw Kakyuu's sudden change of mood and realized she had sensed something. Though Kakyuu flew off before Star Fighter could question her, the senshi's instincts told her where the source of trouble was. Barreling through the gate and into the park, Star Fighter saw her instincts had been correct.   
  
The heat in the area hit her like the open vent of a blast furnace. Already vegetation was withering under its influence. Acrid smoke filled the air, stinging the eyes and making breathing difficult. A thin plume of smoke rose from beyond a line of trees. Star Fighter made for the trees, ready to confront anything.  
  
Beyond the trees, several Fire Giants stood on the shore of the lake. They towered fifty meters into the air, their bodies living crackling flame. At their feet were the forms of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, felled and unconscious or worse. Sailor Pluto withstood the fiery assault of the giants, her staff generating an area around her that seemed to remove her from reality into a different plane of existence.   
  
Approaching the lake was a squad of uniformed humans. They were from the local police and fire, responding to the emergency, ready to do battle with another invader. Star Fighter admired their courage and determination, but knew they were hopelessly overmatched.   
  
Hovering to the side were Serenity and Kakyuu, their gowns flowing in the air, their long hair buffeted by the superheated currents of the area. Serenity seemed to be talking to the giants. Star Fighter couldn't hear her, though it was clear the giants did and ignored her. A fear gripped Star Fighter's heart: if a giant should suddenly turn on them, they were so close that an attack might be upon them before they could mount a defense. Her hand went to her belt and produced her weapon.  
  
And in the blink of an eye, the giant moved. A huge fireball, big enough to engulf Serenity and Kakyuu both, exploded from the giant and sped toward the pair. Star Fighter just had time to scream.  
  
  
  
Continued in Chapter 10 


	10. Showdown Over Juuban Park

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 10: "Showdown over Juuban Park"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
The four senshi ran into the clearing by the lake in Juuban Park just in time to witness Serenity and Kakyuu be engulfed by a massive fireball. Jupiter's eyes went wide and she stumbled to a stop. Mercury choked, her hands flying up to her mouth. Venus let out a strangled little sob as her worst nightmare seemed to sweep over her like a giant wave. Echoing through the trees was a bellowed snarl of pain and rage that sounded like it might be Sailor Star Fighter. Then Mars turned to them, eyes huge and mouth drawn back in a delirious smile, and for a tense moment the others thought she had collapsed into madness.  
  
"It's OK!" she said, almost giddy with relief. "She's not dead! I can feel it!"  
  
Mercury had trouble reconciling the clear evidence she'd witnessed against the supernatural sight of Mars. The other two dared for a moment to hope. Then they noticed Endymion poised atop a lamppost, his sword drawn, waiting for a reason to act. Cautiously they all looked back at where they had seemingly seen Serenity and Kakyuu immolated.  
  
"STAR SERIOUS LASER!" rang out from the trees. It was followed by a beam of energy knifing out and striking the Fire Giant squarely in the temple. The giant recoiled from the pain the beam inflicted upon it. The beam couldn't destroy it, but it was hurting the giant. The quartet had to squint, for the beam was far more intense and brilliant than any they could recall Star Fighter ever emitting before.  
  
And all at once the fireball withdrew, condensing down into nearly nothing. There floated Serenity and Kakyuu, unscathed by the fire. Kakyuu had her hands cupped and the once massive flames danced and cavorted in her palms like a playful puppy. Caressing the fire lovingly, Kakyuu turned to the Fire Giant.  
  
"You have chosen the wrong way to attack me," she gently admonished the giant. "The fire and I are old and dear friends. I was born of the fire. I matured in the fire. I listened to the fire and heard its wisdom and felt its power." She held out her hand, the fire cupped in her palm, and gently thrust out. The fire seemed to leap back to the giant like a docile pet. "I implore you now," she said kindly and the giant seemed to cock its head and listen. "Leave this place and return to where you belong."  
  
The giant hesitated, torn between its mission and the siren song of Kakyuu. Then the sky seemed to thunder above it. Huge flames roared out through the temporal portal, disgorging heat and smoke as if from Hell itself. Serenity flinched back, though Kakyuu watched with calm assurance. The portal seemed to stretch to its limit, then spat out three more Fire Giants and a man.  
  
The man was tall and wiry, but with a chiseled frame of powerful muscles. He wore loose red pants, cinched at the waist with a woven leather belt, and thick leather boots. His shirt was brilliant orange, again loose and flowing, and he had a cape of red with yellow lining. His features were long and thin, his eyes sloped and his nose tapered. Wild, unkempt thick orange hair topped his skull and a gold earring dangled from his left ear. The stranger levitated in the center of the quintet of Fire Giants and looked to the two princesses with a menacing glower.   
  
"You seek to command my subjects, woman?" he snapped, his words contemptuous, but warning tones hidden beneath.  
  
"I seek merely to return them to their home," Kakyuu replied, calm and pleasant.  
  
"You would best be served by surrender," he told her. "I am Nefris, King of the Children of Surt. Do you speak for this pitiful lot of creatures we have come to judge?"  
  
"That would be her," Kakyuu said, bowing and floating back behind and to the right of Serenity. "She is Usagi, the Princess Serenity."  
  
Nefris looked Serenity over.  
  
"You're a fair wench," he said, an eyebrow raised, "but I doubt you're much of a challenge. I give you a choice: accept the judgment and die a quick death or fight and die slowly and painfully, but with honor."  
  
Serenity's chest heaved. "Do we have to go through this again?" she asked.  
  
The question seemed to catch everybody off guard, except Kakyuu.  
  
"We've all been through so much already," Serenity continued. "Can't you just go? Go back where you came from and live in peace, and let us live in peace? This won't accomplish anything except get people hurt! I don't want that!"  
  
"If you've no stomach for battle," Nefris sneered, "then I'll accept your surrender - - on your knees!"  
  
"Why do you all sound alike?" sighed Serenity. "Do you all go to some school and learn to do it that way?" The loud snicker that escaped from Venus's mouth echoed over the lake. "Go home. We've already gone through your world's 'judgment' and we passed! Leave us alone! Go home! Go home to your families and your friends and leave us in peace! And if you don't have any families to go home to - - well, maybe that's your problem!"  
  
The jaunty superiority was gone from her foe's face, replaced by simmering anger.  
  
"Indeed, Princess?" Nefris said with a low, threatening tone. "Perhaps you first need a lesson in the price of mockery."  
  
Watching from the clump of trees, Star Fighter saw the invader's arm track around until it pointed at the group of firefighters parked by the lake. Instantly sensing what was coming, Star Fighter bolted toward them at blinding speed, trying to arrive in time to push them out of harm's way. As she ran, she knew she couldn't make it.  
  
The fire exploded out from Nefris, much the way it had exploded out from Candes; however this was far more intense. The gigantic ball of flame hurled down at the wide-eyed firefighters. They were frozen in their tracks, the threat barely having time to register in their minds before it was upon them.  
  
But at the last moment, the fire struck an invisible shield and fanned out from the impact point. Grass was scorched and trees set afire, but the firefighters were protected. Star Fighter stopped and backtracked from the flames, then looked up to the two princesses. Serenity was gesturing; she had thrown up the energy shield. Star Fighter smiled proudly.  
  
"Who are you to think you can thwart my will?" demanded Nefris, whirling on her and Kakyuu. Then his eyes narrowed. "Perhaps you are this mysterious princess of Midgard? The one who defeated King Vodun and laid waste to the wretched Sons of Ymir? You strike me as little more than a kitchen wench - - yet perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye. Perhaps I will enjoy this challenge more than I thought I would."  
  
"Ohhhh!" fumed Serenity. "Poopy on your challenge!"  
  
Venus snickered again. Mars put her hand to her forehead and shook her head in disgust. But Nefris was not amused.  
  
"I won't let you hurt anyone," Serenity told him. "I don't want to fight you! I don't want this silly little war you seem so eager to fight! But I won't let you hurt anyone!"  
  
"You dare!" Nefris hissed, eyes flaring with anger. "You dare deride the challenge? The challenge is our life! We of Knorr wage war for centuries to win the right to present the challenge to a lower race! I have seen the blood of friends and family spill to secure the right! And you, an insignificant human and a woman besides, dare to sneer at it! You'll die for that!"   
  
His arms came up, ready to throw another fireball. In an eye-blink, a dark shadow passed in front of his vision. Cold steel hammered against the leather gauntlets on his forearms, blocking them from fixing on Serenity. Nefris refocused and found Endymion face to face with him. The man stared into the fire king's eyes, his message clear.  
  
"You defend her?" Nefris asked, his eyes dancing. His hand extended and a sword grew from it. It was a sword of pure fire. "Very well. Have at it, while your world burns! Destroy them all, my giants!"  
  
The five Fire Giants lunged forward, their arms extended to project more flame. Endymion began to move to intercept them, but fell back into a defensive position when Nefris brought his sword into play.  
  
"Jupiter! Oak Evolution!" Jupiter's voice sang out.  
  
"Exploding Golden Kiss!" Venus yelled.  
  
The twin attacks exploded into the Fire Giants in the lead of the pack. They fell back, hurt by the bursts of energy and electricity. Emboldened, Star Fighter brought her power to bear.  
  
"Star Serious Laser!" she cried out and her beam struck the giant Venus had staggered. The giant's fire seemed to burn even more brightly for a moment, then snuffed, sending the ashen remains beneath tumbling to the ground.  
  
"Mars! Flame Sniper!" came the call from Mars. She loosened a shaft of fire that pierced the heart of the giant reeling from Jupiter's electrical bursts. But rather than finish it off, the arrow seemed to revitalize the giant.  
  
"Obviously you can't fight fire with fire in this case," Mercury told her.  
  
"Then I'll have to fight it a different way," Mars replied.  
  
Producing one of her wards, Mars pressed it to her forehead while reciting the chant that invoked its power. Chaos was breaking out all around her, but Sailor Mars remained steady and in command. With a sudden burst of speed, Mars shot forward several paces and launched the ward at the nearest Fire Giant. Defying the flames, the paper ward struck the forehead of the giant and attached itself. Immediately the giant stopped, lunging around blindly in a futile attempt to find the ward and remove it.  
  
"Take it, Mercury!" Mars said.  
  
"Sparkling Tsunami!" Mercury called out.   
  
Immediately the giant was inundated by a torrential blizzard. Chill wind and ice and snow pelted the giant, whipping at its flames and dousing them little by little. The creature fumbled blindly, confused and unable to mount a defense until little by little the creature was snuffed out and disintegrated into ashes.  
  
"Good going, team!" Venus shouted in encouragement. "But there's still plenty more where they came from! You all know the drill by now!"  
  
Endymion's sword slashed once again through the sword of flame. As it did, the sword flashed brilliantly. The seemingly intangible flame deflected Endymion's blade. As it did, the sound of steel on steel echoed around them. Endymion glared at Nefris and was greeted with a mocking smile.  
  
"So, 'Champion', the mettle of Nefris is more than you first imagined," Nefris gloated.  
  
"I never underestimated you," Endymion replied as he parried a thrust of the flaming sword and felt his own deflected away. "It's you who have underestimated Earth - - you and your opposite chess piece, Vodun. You think of us as inferior, as unworthy of you both. How little you both know of us!"  
  
Endymion evaded a thrust by executing a perfect pirouette and slashing down at Nefris, who blocked. With each clash of sword blades, Endymion studied the sword. It didn't react normally. If it was truly made of fire, his blade should pass through it. There was something in the center of the flame, whether tangible or mystical, that gave the blade substance. He parried another thrust and came up face to face with Nefris.  
  
"I know more than I care to know!" sneered Nefris. "Vodun died because he grew weak and complacent in victory! We of the grace of Surt have hungered for our time and that time is now! We will not be denied, not by the dog sons of Ymir or by the mud children of Midgard!" He hacked at Endymion, driving the man back. With every plunge of the sword, the blade grew hotter and more brilliant. "You will not stop us! You don't have the power!"  
  
"We do!" retorted Endymion, dancing out of the way of another hacking swing of the fiery blade. "I will defeat you! For the sake of the billions of voices that cry out to me in pain and anger, demanding an end to this vile contest of yours! And for the sake of a single woman who has graced me with the greatest gift she could ever bestow!"  
  
Their blades clashed again, shooting sparks. Each ember fell to the ground and from them grew more Fire Giants.  
  
"This is threatening to get out of hand!" Mercury judged. "Serenity! Contain them!"  
  
Mesmerized by the battle and her fear for Endymion's safety, Serenity shook herself and looked down. Mercury's words seemed to register in her brain for the first time. Nodding, she swooped down on the spreading Fire Giants. As they shot their flames out at anything that lived, Serenity gestured. An invisible wall sprang up around the Giants, blocking and containing their bursts.  
  
"Please stop this," Serenity pleaded with the nearest giant, levitating near the creature.  
  
It replied by shooting fire at her, fire that was easily blocked by the barrier. Sighing in resignation, Serenity cupped her hands and the barrier became a bubble around the giants. They all struck at the bubble, filling it with fire until the sight of them was obliterated.  
  
"You have them, Serenity!" Star Fighter called out. "Crush them while you can!"  
  
"No, Star Fighter," Serenity replied. "There's still a place for mercy in this world." She looked up to Kakyuu, who was calmly observing the battles. "Kakyuu! Can you help me? Can you open a portal to Knorr so I can send these creatures back?"  
  
"For you, dear friend, anything," Kakyuu smiled serenely.  
  
Her hands came up and she seemed to wipe at nothing. The sky shimmered and a patch began to open. It was visible only because the blue of the sky within seemed brighter and bluer than the one over Tokyo.  
  
Nefris seemed distressed by this turn of events and his distraction gave Endymion an opening. Shifting his sword to his other hand, Endymion materialized a rose and flung it. The rose embedded itself in the wrist of the sword hand of Nefris. The sword dropped from his grip and the flame snuffed out, revealing a deadly blade that hid in the center of the flame. Endymion's sword came up, its tip pointed under the chin of Nefris.  
  
"Endgame," Endymion proclaimed.  
  
"Impossible!" Nefris gasped, reeling with the thought of defeat. "What are you? No human is capable of this!"  
  
"All humans are capable of this," replied Endymion. "I am the Prince of this world and its strength flows through me."  
  
On the ground, Uranus had finally roused. Though battered and bruised, she ignored the pain and made her way over to Neptune.  
  
"Neptune?" she asked fearfully, gently shaking the woman.   
  
"I'll make it," Neptune whispered, rousing painfully. "I guess the others came through where we didn't."  
  
"We would have beaten them eventually," Uranus replied.  
  
Neptune flashed her a playful smile, then glanced over her shoulder. Pluto was already up and observing what transpired above them. Feeling Uranus supporting her, Neptune looked, too.  
  
"So?" Nefris asked bitterly. "Kill me and be done with it."  
  
"I'd like to," Endymion told him. "I know the mindset that possesses you all too well. Peace is an alien thing to you. It's almost a slow death. So you'll be back to attack us again, to inflict more pain and suffering and revel in it."  
  
"Then do it! What stays your hand? Cowardice?"  
  
"She wouldn't approve," Endymion stated. He could feel Serenity look back at him, even as she shoved eight Fire Giants through the dimensional portal Kakyuu had opened up. He felt her grateful, loving smile. "And her love and approval is worth a thousand of you." Endymion lowered his sword. "You're beaten. Go home."  
  
Pluto watched from the ground with a grimace, like she knew what was coming. It gave Neptune a sudden flash of apprehension and she turned back to the skies.   
  
As Endymion's sword lowered, Nefris raised his arm. Suddenly fire shot out from his hand, aimed at Endymion's head. Endymion flinched back and Nefris pivoted, gesturing to his sword.  
  
"NOW!" he bellowed, lunging with his newly energized sword at Endymion.   
  
More Fire Giants lunged from the temporal portal. They threw fire at the startled Serenity and Kakyuu and at the senshi on the ground. Neptune's eyes widened and she tried to speak her attack phrase before it was too late.  
  
"CHRONOS WHIRLPOOL!" Neptune heard Pluto shout and her blood ran cold.  
  
For all the senshi, for Serenity and Endymion, and for Kakyuu and Star Fighter, the world ground to a halt around them. The fireballs that were streaming at them slowed and stopped. The movements of Nefris and of his Fire Giants stopped. Everything around them was frozen.  
  
"What happened?" puzzled Serenity.  
  
"We have been given a reprieve," judged Kakyuu. "I will dissipate the fireballs, Usagi. I leave the disposition of the invaders to you."  
  
While keeping the portal to Knorr open, Kakyuu focused on a fireball and slowly dissipated it. She moved from fireball to fireball until each one was neutralized.  
  
"What are you going to do with them, Serenity?" Jupiter asked as Serenity gathered Nefris and the Fire Giants in the temporal portal into another bubble.  
  
"Send them home," Serenity replied. "Then find a way to seal off that time hole once and for all."  
  
"What happens if they come back?" Venus posed. "Just because you beat them and sent them home doesn't mean they'll accept it and stay there."  
  
Everyone seemed to hang on Serenity's words.  
  
"If they come back," Serenity said finally, with conviction in her voice, "I'll just have to stop them again - - I mean we'll have to stop them. But everyone deserves a chance to make amends and learn from their mistakes."  
  
"I hope we all don't end up regretting that decision," Mars cautioned.  
  
"If we do, I'm sure you'll let me know about it," Serenity replied. The two flashed playful grins at each other, then Serenity shoved the intruders through the portal back to Knorr.  
  
Instantly the world began to move normally again. Satisfied things were finally set right, Serenity turned back to her senshi. That's when she spotted Sailor Pluto flat on her back, the Time Staff inches from her hand. Sailor Neptune was already crouching next to her, with Uranus behind her.  
  
"Pluto!" Serenity shrieked.   
  
She flew down to the ground where Neptune cradled Sailor Pluto. Serenity knelt beside her.  
  
"Is she . . .?" Serenity gasped.  
  
"Not yet," Neptune whispered, feeling for a pulse. "I can barely feel a pulse, though." Mercury instantly shoved her way in and felt the pulse.  
  
"She's going into shock," Mercury said. "Get something to cover her with! Get those paramedics over here! I'm going to need their equipment!"   
  
"Come on, Pluto! Hang on a little longer!" Neptune implored her.  
  
"What happened?" Serenity pleaded. "Was she hit?"  
  
"No," Neptune said. "It was when she stopped time! She tried it once before, but the strain and the energy expenditure was too much for her! It nearly killed her then!"  
  
"She's going into cardiac arrest!" Mercury said. Her hands went to Pluto's chest to begin heart massage. "If you medics have any Epnodrine over there, I need it stat!" Epnodrine was the new wonder drug used to treat emergency heart attack patients.  
  
"NO!" wailed Serenity.   
  
Before Mercury could touch her, Serenity seized Pluto's shoulders. Upon contact, a silver glow enveloped them both. Mercury snatched her hands away and she and Neptune stared in wonder. Endymion and Kakyuu glided down to flank Serenity, while the others crowded around to watch. They saw the edges of Pluto's mouth begin to curl.  
  
Then contact was broken. The glow dissipated. Serenity fell backwards, swooning, and was caught by Endymion. He cradled his wife gently and caressed her cheek. Shaking herself, Mercury checked Pluto.  
  
"Pulse," she mumbled, "breathing - - all normal."  
  
"Pluto's all right?" asked Neptune.  
  
"Don't ask me how," Mercury said. "Although I suppose it's obvious." Then she looked, awe-struck, at Serenity. "Endymion . . .?"  
  
"It took a little out of her," Endymion said, cradling Serenity protectively. "But she'll be all right."  
  
"She took a great risk," Kakyuu said, Star Fighter flanking her. "This woman was slipping past life into death and Usagi plucked her back. She could very easily have slipped in with her."  
  
"I'm not that clumsy anymore," Serenity mumbled.   
  
"Forgive me for doubting you," Kakyuu replied in good humor.  
  
"Serenity, are you . . .?" Mercury began.  
  
"I'll be all right," Serenity told her, rousing and sitting up. "How's Pluto?"  
  
"Recovering," Pluto whispered, her eyes inching open. "I thank you for my life, My Queen."  
  
"I'm just glad I could save you," Serenity smiled, weakly pulling herself over next to Pluto. Then she grew cross. "But don't you ever, ever, EVER do that again! It's too dangerous! Don't you ever stop time ever again! I absolutely forbid it!"  
  
Pluto, sitting up as well, bowed her head, then smothered a smile. "By your decree, My Queen: From this day forth, I am forbidden to stop time," and she looked up at Serenity, her smile quite wry, "under penalty of death."  
  
"Nice to know you still have your weird sense of humor," Neptune jabbed playfully. Everybody else smiled except Serenity, who didn't get the joke. Then Pluto sobered. She looked at Serenity, distress and apology obvious in her eyes.  
  
"I fear though, My Queen," she said painfully, "that one day circumstances will compel me to disobey you."  
  
Continued in Chapter 11 


	11. Orphans Of The Storm

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 11: "Orphans Of The Storm"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
"Is that all of them?" Serenity asked, turning to Princess Kakyuu. Her voice almost seemed like a whimper of despair.   
  
"I have no way of knowing that," Kakyuu offered apologetically. "I am not blessed with foresight into the future, anymore than you are, Usagi."  
  
Serenity seemed to stare at Kakyuu for a moment. Then she turned to Sailor Pluto.  
  
"Is it?" she asked, pleading silently for Pluto to reassure her. "Will there be more? Or are we finally done with Knorr and their stupid challenges?"  
  
Neptune watched Pluto. For a moment the suddenly mysterious and reserved senshi looked like she was about to reply with one of her cryptic responses that told you nothing save that she would tell you nothing. But Neptune noticed Pluto waver. Her eyes narrowed as Pluto's expression softened and looked at Serenity with growing charity.   
  
"Knorr will trouble us no longer, My Queen," Pluto replied and actually smiled at Serenity. "We have passed their challenges. No more will we see either the children of Surt or of Ymir."  
  
"You're sure?" Venus asked. "I don't want to turn around and see the 'arrogant puppy children of Knorr' pour through that time thingy."  
  
"Arrogant puppy children?" Mars asked and looked at Venus askance.  
  
  
  
But Serenity ignored them, for though Pluto hid it, she felt the pang in Pluto's heart at the mention of the children of Ymir and the mental association that brought back memories of Janus. Instantly she grasped Pluto's hands.  
  
"Setsuna," Serenity whimpered. "Please don't be sad. I know you're still hurting about Janus. But you'll find someone else! You have to believe that!"  
  
Pluto gently divested Serenity of her hands. "Setsuna no longer exists, My Queen. And you forget I am now privy to all possible futures. Janus was my first and last chance at love."  
  
And tears began to flow. They cascaded down soft cheeks. As Endymion appeared behind her and took hold of her shoulders to comfort her, Pluto reached over and gently wiped the tears from Serenity's eyes with her hand.  
  
"Do not cry for me, My Queen," Pluto said, softly and respectfully and perhaps with a touch of gratitude. "Being in your service is much more gratifying than any feeling Janus was able to generate within me."  
  
"WHY?"  
  
A girl bellowed the word out. Everyone turned to the sound. They saw a teenage girl kneeling over a fallen firefighter - - and learned for the first time that the children of Surt had caused casualties. The girl was staring up at them with unconcealed anger. She rose to her feet and glared directly at Serenity from a distance of forty meters.  
  
"My father's dead!" she wailed, her eyes riveted to Serenity. "Why didn't you save him? You saved everybody else! Why didn't you save my father?"  
  
Serenity stared at her, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. She was struck speechless by the accusations, by the naked fury in the girl's voice and most of all by the fact that someone had died. Unconsciously the girl got up and stalked toward Serenity.  
  
"Why didn't you save him?" she demanded. "Why did you let him die? You can do anything! Why is my father dead? Why?"  
  
Before she could get any closer, Uranus and Jupiter intercepted her and held the teen back. She strained forward hopelessly against the superior strength of the two senshi, still demanding to know why.  
  
Mercury and Venus turned to Serenity to try to comfort her, because they knew from long experience how she was reacting. But they were already too late. Serenity had fled, her hands covering her face, with Endymion in pursuit. Kakyuu looked down, saddened and silently sympathetic to what Serenity was experiencing, while Star Fighter glared at the teen with unconcealed contempt.  
  
Sailor Mars did more than glare.  
  
"HOW DARE YOU!" Mars hissed, striking the girl across the face so viciously that she spun her to the ground. Mars stood over her, quaking with rage. "If it weren't for Serenity, we'd all still be popsicles! How dare you talk to her like that!"  
  
"My father's dead!" the girl angrily spat back at Mars.  
  
"And if it weren't for her, a lot of other people's fathers and mothers and children would be dead! I sympathize with your loss, but put the blame on the people who killed him! Don't you dare for one minute try to blame her for it!"  
  
Venus and Mercury began to pull Mars away. Mars allowed it, her rage cooling ever so slightly. The teen collapsed into mournful sobbing. Kakyuu started for her, but stopped when she saw Jupiter kneel down next to her.  
  
"It's rough," Jupiter whispered, stroking the girl's back. "I know."  
  
"What do I do now?" the girl choked out as her body shuddered with her sobbing. "He was everything to me. What do I do now?"  
  
"Live," Jupiter suggested. "Work as hard as you can to be the type of person he'd have been proud of. That's what I did."  
  
Jupiter gathered the girl in and hugged her. No one could tell if Jupiter's words made any sort of impression. But they could tell that she was grateful for the warmth of another person in her time of loss.  
  
Mars turned to search for Serenity, but she was gently held back by Kakyuu. The senshi turned to the alien princess to argue, but a gentle shake of her head quieted Mars.  
  
"There is no need," Kakyuu told her. "She has a husband for that."   
  
Unerringly Endymion's link to her led him to Serenity. She had stopped in a corner of the park by a tree that had barely survived the ice. His wife crouched down as if she were cowering in the face of the girl's accusations and Endymion fully expected to get wet.  
  
He was in for a surprise.  
  
"Can't you tell me your name?" Serenity asked.  
  
Before her Endymion found a girl. She was about four years old, with black hair styled in a simple bowl cut. Her chubby cheeks were soiled and her modest blouse and pants were scuffed and torn. What struck Endymion most about her were the girl's eyes. They were large, hollow orbs, wide with fright and deprivation and spoke of tragedies no one should be witness to at any age, and certainly not at four. Serenity reached out and touched the girl and she cowered in fear, expecting at any moment for Serenity to destroy her.  
  
"I won't hurt you," Serenity smiled, turning on her innate charm. "It looks like you've been hurt enough as it is. My name's Usagi and I'd like to help if I can. Where are your parents?"  
  
The child's mouth drew thin and taut, like she was struggling with the ultimate horror. She didn't have to answer. Instantly Serenity hugged the child to her.  
  
"Both of them?" Serenity gasped. The child nodded and the dam burst for them both. "Oh you poor thing!" gasped Serenity. "Do you have anyone?"  
  
The child shook her head against Serenity's shoulder. "Oto-san and Oka-san wouldn't wake up," she squeaked, her face buried into Serenity. "Onee-chan said they'd gone to heaven and wouldn't be coming back."  
  
"Where's your brother?" Endymion asked softly, kneeling next to Serenity and placing a hand on her back.  
  
"Onee-chan was bringing back food for me," the child sniffed. "And some men tried to take it away from him - - and they," and the child shivered in Serenity's arms in horror. "I ran away because I was afraid they'd hurt me, too! I ran and I ran until I couldn't run anymore, and I ended up here. I've been hiding here ever since." The child began to shudder with sobs. "I want my mommy!"  
  
Serenity clutched the child to her and looked desperately at Endymion. A silent communication passed between them. Endymion gazed deep into the eyes of his beloved, searching to see if what he thought he sensed she was asking him was in fact that. Then he searched himself to see if he had the strength to make her wish come true. His heart replied and his expression softened. Endymion nodded and filled Serenity's heart with joy.  
  
"Do you have anyplace you can go?" Serenity asked. The child shook her head. "Would you like to live with us?"  
  
The child pulled back and stared up at Serenity to see if she was joking.  
  
"You've lost your parents. I know that hurts very much. I lost my parents in the disaster, too. I know you have a hole in your heart now. A long time ago, I lost my little girl and ever since then I've had a hole in my heart. I know I can't replace your mother, just like you can't replace my little Kousagi - - but maybe we can fill the holes in each other's hearts. Would you like to try? I can be your replacement mother and Endymion here can be your replacement father, and you can be our replacement little girl. And we can try to be happy together. I promise I'll try very hard."  
  
The girl wouldn't look at Serenity. But after a short time she timidly nodded.  
  
"Good," Serenity said, hugging her again. "Now if you're going to be my new little girl, do you think you could tell me your name?"  
  
"Setsuko," the girl said, the clouds shyly passing from her chubby features, "Usagi-mama."  
  
Serenity's face twisted up into a soggy grin and she hugged the child again. "I promise you, Setsuko-chan, you'll never have a reason to cry again." Serenity felt Endymion lean in next to her and she looked to him.  
  
"You see," he smiled. "Don't dwell on the ones you lose - - revel in the ones you save."  
  
Serenity's smile beamed her ascent.   
  
Back by the lake, the other senshi stood around nervously as the emergency personnel cleaned up and left. Mars just stared off into the distance, looking upset, while the others glanced at one another, unsure how to act. Off to one side, Uranus and Neptune gathered near Pluto.  
  
"You think she's going to be all right?" Uranus wondered aloud.  
  
"She may have a rough time of it," Neptune judged, "but the one thing I can say about Usagi is that she's always been remarkably resilient - - or Serenity is, I suppose. I guess I have to get used to calling her that."  
  
"You are quite correct," Pluto agreed. "The Queen may experience doubt from time to time, more so than we might, but it is because her burden is so much greater."  
  
"Honestly, you're such a suck-up anymore," Uranus teased.  
  
"Pluto," Neptune began cautiously, "when Serenity asked you whether the threat from Knorr was finally gone - - you initially didn't want to tell her, didn't you?"  
  
Pluto thought. "I was at first reluctant to divulge the future to her," she admitted. "But then I realized that no harm could come from it and I wished to ease the Queen's mind."  
  
"What made you realize that?"  
  
Pluto thought some more. The longer it took to arrive at an answer, the more puzzled she grew.  
  
"This is most disturbing," Pluto replied. "I am certain I had a reason, and yet I cannot recall it. It merely seemed like the best alternative suddenly. I did suddenly feel quite reluctant to disappoint her."  
  
"What are you getting at?" Uranus asked, eyeing her partner.  
  
"Is it possible Serenity put the thought in your head, or maybe influenced you to think that way?"  
  
"Dumpling? Even if she could, do you really think she would do something like that?"  
  
"With her power, I'd say almost anything is possible. Why not influencing thoughts or emotions? Maybe she'd not even aware she's doing it. But I was watching Pluto and I saw the sudden shift in her facial expression."  
  
"You are perhaps correct," Pluto said. "It would explain what at this moment defies explanation. It is your next, unspoken contention where we are at odds. I am not suspicious of it, for I trust our Queen's benevolence."  
  
"I'm just being cautious," scowled Neptune.  
  
"It is not an unwise action," Pluto counseled her. "My only wish is that it does not overwhelm your judgment."  
  
"Is that a warning based on something you've seen?" Neptune asked. Pluto put her hand on the senshi's shoulder.   
  
"It is advice based upon our many years of fighting and living side by side," Pluto told her.  
  
Jupiter looked at Mars, who was still staring off in the distance, and fidgeted.  
  
"You suppose we should go after her?" Jupiter asked. She turned when she felt Kakyuu and Star Fighter approach.  
  
"You are only concerned for her as loyal friends," Kakyuu advised them. "But this is something she must work out between herself and her mate. This is not the last time Usagi's motives will be questioned. It is not the last time that she will face an angry rebuke because she failed to do more. With great power comes great expectations."  
  
"Do you speak from experience?" Mercury asked.   
  
"I have experienced a few difficulties over my years," she responded cryptically.  
  
"When she first ascended from Sailor Fireball to what she is now," Star Fighter related, "she was greeted with fear and suspicion. There were those who wanted to exploit her power for personal gain. There were those who wanted to exploit her generous nature in order to avoid shouldering their share of the burden. There were some who coveted her power and others who feared her as a threat to their petty provinces and matchstick castles. Serenity'll face the same thing. Her trials have only just begun."  
  
"Ahh, the fickle populace," Venus grinned cynically. "You gotta love 'em."  
  
"The heart is not perfect," Kakyuu said. "All people, whether of Earth or Kinmoku or a billion other worlds, experience weak moments. They make mistakes. They shrink from their better selves. They give in to fear, to doubt, to anger or to greed. I do not judge them, for I am no different. I extend my hand to all. Should my proffered friendship be used, betrayed or rebuked, who has lost more? I have lost a potential friend and ally, it is true, but they have cast away so much more. I am sad for them, rather than acrimonious, for they have shrank from the joy of peace and harmony." Kakyuu's smile dimmed ever so slightly. "Star Fighter is correct, though. Usagi will face similar things. She will bend, but she is too strong to break. This I believe. And she has all of you to ease her burden when she needs it. But she is not in need of you at this moment."  
  
"She's right," Mars said, a joyful smile growing on her mouth. "Serenity's past it. I can sense it."  
  
"I wonder how much Endymion had to do with that?" smirked Jupiter. Mercury glanced at Venus with a knowing grin and Venus winked back. Moments later, Serenity and Endymion could be seen approaching. Everyone's eyes, though, locked on little Setsuko.  
  
"Who's this?" Jupiter cooed. "She's a cutie-pie!"  
  
"Ladies, this is Setsuko," Serenity said. Setsuko looked at them timidly, clinging to Serenity. "Setsuko lost all of her family in the disaster," and Serenity glanced happily at Endymion, "so Endymion and I are going to be her new family."  
  
"You?" Mars gasped. "You can barely take care of yourself!"  
  
"Oh, hush!" growled Serenity.  
  
"It's a fine thing you're doing, Serenity," Mercury smiled. She leaned in to Setsuko. "Hello. My name is Sailor Mercury. I hope we can be friends."  
  
"She is a doll, isn't she?" Mars beamed.  
  
"Yeah," Venus agreed. "You're gonna like your new mom, honey. She's a sweetheart." Then Venus leaned in. "And she's a real pushover."  
  
"It's real nice of you two to do that," Jupiter told them. "And you're going to enjoy motherhood - - most of the time."  
  
"Don't worry, Setsuko-chan," Serenity cooed in the girl's ear. "You've gone through a rough time, but the worst is over. I promise."  
  
"Is the worst finally over?" Venus asked. "Can we all get back to our lives now?"  
  
"Maybe not," Mercury offered. The others turned to her. "Well, there's still the problem of that temporal nexus."  
  
"But it's sealed, isn't it?" Mars asked as the outer senshi joined them.  
  
"It was sealed before," Mercury told her. "That didn't seem to stop those Fire Giants. Obviously something more permanent needs to be done." The others looked at her expectantly. "I don't know. I'd have to know how it was opened to even begin to theorize a way to close it."  
  
"Pluto?" Venus asked, turning to the senshi of time. "You're sort of our resident time expert. Any ideas?"  
  
"This nexus is a natural phenomenon," Pluto stated. "It has existed since the beginning as a pathway to and from points in time. It was born with the birth of this Earth and will exist to its death and perhaps beyond."  
  
"Then there's no way to eliminate it?" Neptune asked.  
  
"None."  
  
Serenity's shoulders sagged. Endymion took Setsuko from her. "So something like this could happen again?"   
  
"It shall happen again," Pluto told her. "Have you forgotten the temporal nexus was used by the minions of Wise Man to attack the twentieth century?"  
  
"And if they could, others could as well," Mars frowned.  
  
"Forgive me if my physics is shaky," Endymion began. "Is it possible to remove the nexus from this dimension?"  
  
Everyone looked at him blankly, except Mercury, Pluto and Kakyuu.  
  
"Shift it out of phase, perhaps?" Mercury asked. When she noticed the others, she sighed. "Our world has three dimensions we can see - - length, width and depth - - and one we can only sense - - time. If the reality of the nexus can be shifted out of phase with our reality so that what occurs in and around it occurs after our reality, it will theoretically cease to be visible and tangible to our reality."  
  
"Anybody have an aspirin?" Venus quipped. Jupiter smacked the back of her head. "OW! I wish you'd stop that!" Setsuko giggled.  
  
"Stop being brainless and I will," Jupiter smirked back. Setsuko giggled louder. It was a sound that seemed to reflexively bring joy to a situation.  
  
"Your thinking is sound," Pluto replied, "so far as it goes. It would prevent people of this time from gaining access to the temporal rift. But nothing prevents the rift from being used to gain access to our time, say from the past, save shifting phase alignment to correspond with ours. A physical barrier of some sort will still be necessary."  
  
Mercury frowned. Endymion also seemed disappointed. The others took their cues from the pair and were also disappointed.  
  
"Then I'll have to make one." They turned to Serenity and saw the resolute expression on her gentle face again. "I'm not going to let everyone go through this again. I'll make a barrier no one can penetrate." Then the resolution drained from her and she peeked at Kakyuu. "I can do that, can't I?"  
  
Kakyuu smiled generously. "If you believe," she replied.  
  
Kakyuu offered her hands and Serenity eagerly took them. Before the wondering eyes of her friends and a few onlookers and most of all Setsuko, Serenity levitated up into the air with Kakyuu until they were on either side of the closed rift. The pair began to glow. Serenity's was her usual silver glow, while Kakyuu took on a fiery red tint. Their brilliance shown down upon those gazing up at them until they became hard to see.   
  
Mercury looked on, absorbing every moment. Mars chewed a knuckle. Venus and Jupiter hoped, not daring to believe. Uranus was awestruck by the sight of the woman who was once a clumsy colt of a girl with a moment's crush on her now evolved into this. Neptune stared, imagining the possibilities this slight thing was capable of. And Pluto kept her own counsel.  
  
When the twin glows seemed to peak, they encompassed the rift, obscuring it from sight. Above them, Serenity's heart seemed to sing. Though still challenging, it was becoming easier to wield the energies of the Silver Crystal.  
  
"Kakyuu, I feel so giddy!" Serenity giggled mentally.  
  
"It is an effect of the energies we use," Kakyuu thought to her. "I confess to the same feelings."  
  
"It almost feels like I'm running naked in a field of wildflowers!" Serenity squealed.  
  
"You are quite the silly one," Kakyuu mentally grinned back. "To your task, silly one."  
  
"OK! What do I do?"  
  
"What do you wish to do?"  
  
"Seal it! But not so we can't get through - - I want to leave a way for Usa to visit me! But I don't want anyone to get through who shouldn't! I guess a door would be best - - but a strong one with a really good lock!"  
  
"Then make it so," Kakyuu gently prodded.  
  
When the glows dissipated, a door seemed to shimmer in the sky for just a moment. Then it faded as it passed out of phase with reality and was engulfed by nothing. Serenity and Kakyuu gently floated back to Earth.  
  
"Was that the Door Of Time I just saw up there?" demanded Venus the moment Serenity's feet touched earth.  
  
"I don't know," Serenity replied, still high from her experience.  
  
"You don't even know what you just created?" Mars huffed.  
  
Serenity thought. "I guess it was." She smiled. "I'm glad I could make it look so pretty."  
  
"Usagi-mama!" little Setsuko gasped. "Are you an angel?"  
  
"No," Serenity replied modestly.  
  
"She just plays one on TV," Venus quipped, hugging Serenity around her neck from behind. Setsuko cackled at the joke. "Hey, this kid's got taste! Setsuko-chan, I think I'm going to like you!"  
  
"So is that going to do the job?" Uranus posed, returning things to the question at hand. "Will that keep out time traveling bad guys?"  
  
"Not by itself," Pluto said. Neptune immediately felt a chill from Pluto's manner. "The door is consigned to its own reality, a dimension of mist separate from our own. But it will need a sentry. I volunteer, My Queen."  
  
"Pluto!" Neptune gasped. Pluto turned and a single glance silenced Neptune.  
  
"But that would mean leaving," Serenity said, pale and stricken. "Setsuna, you can't! You'd be all by yourself! It'd be so cold and lonely for you! I can't ask you to do that!"  
  
"Please, My Queen," Pluto persisted and Serenity noticed tears welling in the woman's eyes. "It would be little different if I stayed here. I am no longer part of this world. I can no longer connect with it. My powers will not allow it - - nor will my heart."  
  
"Janus?" Serenity asked. Pluto nodded.  
  
"I despise his very name for what he did to you, My Queen, and yet - - and yet the sun no longer shines as brightly in this world without his presence." The tears began to trickle down Pluto's face. "Every moment in this world without his touch is as a dagger in my heart, My Queen. I fear madness lies before me should I have to endure it much longer. I must do this. I must, if only for the chance to heal away from the constant reminders of happier times. This world is now like sandpaper on an open wound, My Queen. Can the solitude of the mission I claim be that much worse?"  
  
"But Setsuna . . .?" Serenity protested, crying herself.  
  
"My Queen, we each have a destiny, you and I. Yours is a grand destiny, a destiny that will reach toward the heavens, and the world will reap much fortune as it rides upon the hem of your skirt. But your destiny cannot fully blossom unless I first fulfill mine. Grant me my destiny, My Queen."  
  
Biting her lip, Serenity nodded. "But it's not fair!" she wailed.  
  
"It is more fair than you know, My Queen," Pluto said, resting a hand on Serenity's shoulder. "And should you have need of me in the future, do not hesitate to summon me, for I am ever your loyal servant." She bowed respectfully to Serenity. "My King," she said to Endymion and bowed reverently to him. Setsuko looked on in confusion.  
  
Then Sailor Pluto tapped her staff once on the ground. The Garnet Orb flared brilliantly and Sailor Pluto was gone.  
  
Concluded in Chapter 12  
  
Characters in this story were inspired by the movie "Grave Of The Fireflies", which the author gratefully acknowledges. If you have not seen this film, it is highly recommended as a life-altering experience. 


	12. Crystal Tokyo

RESSURRECTION,  
  
Chapter 12: "Crystal Tokyo"  
  
By Bill K.  
  
"Wow," mused Sailor Venus, just as stunned as everybody by the departure of Sailor Pluto. "She really knows how to make an exit."  
  
Several feet away, Uranus turned to her partner, meaning to express her own incredulity at what had transpired, only to find Neptune in an even deeper state of shock.   
  
"Neptune?" Uranus inquired. It seemed to her that Neptune was struggling to cope with the departure and failing.  
  
"I was sensing something like this might happen," Neptune whispered. "But I ignored it. I didn't want to acknowledge it. I was afraid that if I acknowledged it, that it would happen. That's so childish!"  
  
Neptune turned. She felt herself beginning to unravel, felt a rising tide of emotion that was about to engulf her and she didn't know how to stop it. Then she felt arms wrap around her from behind, arms she intuitively knew belonged to Uranus, and suddenly the strength to keep herself together was there.  
  
"It'll be OK," Uranus told her and it was precisely what she wanted to hear. "It's like Setsuna said. We've all got a destiny. Some aren't as great as others. We'll just have to cherish our memories of her that much more."  
  
Neptune was about to agree. Then, out of the blue, Serenity wrapped her arms around Neptune's neck and buried her head against the woman's chest. Uranus barely had time to release her.  
  
"OH, MICHIRU!" she wailed. "This probably hurts even worse for you! You and Setsuna were so close! I'M SO SORRY FOR YOU!"  
  
Neptune could only stare down at Serenity, stunned into inaction and unable to figure out how to respond. Then slowly her expression softened and the corners of her mouth began to curl. For all their disagreements over the years, this woman still had that magic way about her to somehow know exactly what to do just when you were feeling down. Neptune curled her arms around Serenity's torso.  
  
"Thank you, Serenity," she whispered.  
  
"I can't believe she's gone," Jupiter mused to Venus, Mars and Mercury.  
  
"Well hey, it's not like she died," Venus replied. "Maybe we can visit her in that - - wherever it is."  
  
"I think that'd be a really good idea," Mars agreed. "I don't care what Setsuna said, she'll get lonely in there sooner or later. A little company once in a while wouldn't hurt."   
  
She glanced to Mercury for support, but Mercury was staring off beyond her. Mars turned and saw Mercury's mother approaching, just as Mercury moved to meet her.  
  
"Mother?" Mercury inquired. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"I'd say so," Dr. Mizuno said. There was barely contained concern in her face and voice, a radical departure for the usually controlled Dr. Mizuno. "There's a group - - no, it's a mob - - headed for the government complex. They're shouting anti-government slogans and they look quite potentially violent. The minute I saw it I thought you and your group would want to head off any potential conflict. I - - didn't know how else to contact you, so I came here hoping you'd all still be here."  
  
"What set them off?" Mercury asked. Mars and Jupiter were within earshot as well.  
  
"I don't know, but it started right about the time those fire creatures appeared."  
  
"You saw that?"  
  
"Practically the entire city saw it."  
  
"We'll get right on it. Thank you, Mother." Mercury headed for Serenity, flanked by the other senshi.  
  
"Um," Dr. Mizuno began, stopping Mercury in her tracks. "No, never mind. You have a duty to attend to. That's more important."  
  
"Mother," Mercury said, sensing what her mother wanted, "I think I know what you're thinking. I know it's not as important as saving lives, but it's still important - - and we need to do it. We need to carve out a little time and talk about some things."  
  
"You're right," her mother nodded. "I'll - - try to free myself."  
  
"Mother," Mercury said. "I apologize if I was short the last time we saw each other."  
  
"And I apologize if I caused you to doubt that," her mother fumbled saying, "that I love you."  
  
Mercury nodded and rejoined the group. As they walked toward Serenity and Endymion, Jupiter noticed the small smile on Mercury's face.  
  
"It's amazing how much hearing those words can do for you, isn't it?" Jupiter asked.  
  
Mercury flushed slightly.  
  
"Serenity!" Venus called out. "Come on. We've got trouble."  
  
"Again?" groaned Serenity. Making a scooping movement with her hands, she levitated herself and all the senshi. Then she stopped. "Setsuko! She can't come with us! It'll be too dangerous!"  
  
Setsuko tensed, but said nothing. Mercury, however, turned back to her own mother.  
  
"Mother," Mercury asked. "This is Setsuko. She's a homeless little orphan that Serenity and Endymion have adopted. Could-could you look after her until we get back?"  
  
"Why . . ." Dr. Mizuno stammered, caught off-guard. Then she softened. "You're right, of course. That mob is hardly a place for a child. Of course I'll look after her."  
  
She reached for Setsuko, but the girl clung to Endymion fearfully. When she looked up again, Serenity was by her side.   
  
"Setsuko-chan, this is Dr. Mizuno," Serenity said softly. "She's going to check your health and look after you until I get back. I have to take care of something."  
  
"Usagi-mama?" Setsuko said, her eyes speaking volumes about her fear of abandonment.  
  
"Don't worry," Serenity smiled sweetly. "I'll come back. You've got a lot of growing up to do and I'm going to be there for every minute of it!"   
  
She kissed Setsuko on the forehead. The child allowed herself to be passed to Dr. Mizuno's arms. Then Serenity scooped up the senshi in an invisible bubble and flew off with them, Endymion following on his own.  
  
"Hard, isn't it?" Jupiter murmured to Serenity.  
  
"I've seen you go through it, but I never realized just what you go through until now," Serenity replied. Jupiter nodded in sympathy.  
  
"It's OK, Setsuko-chan," Dr. Mizuno cooed into her ear as she cradled the girl. She stared at Mercury as she spoke. "Sometimes you just have to trust that they'll come back. Sailor Moon and her senshi haven't let me down yet."  
  
Sailor Star Fighter moved to follow, but was held back by Princess Kakyuu. She turned to inquire.  
  
"It is best we stay behind in this instance, dear Star Fighter," Kakyuu said. "The presence of outsiders, no matter how well intentioned, may not be what will best aid the situation. And Usagi and her friends must learn all over again to deal with such things on their own."  
  
Levitating over the city, Serenity and her senshi flew to the government complex that housed the legislative and bureaucratic wings of the Japanese government. Much of it survived the ice intact, but now there was a question of whether it could survive its own people.   
  
"You're not straining yourself doing this, are you?" Mars asked Serenity.  
  
"No, it gets easier the more I use the power of the Silver Crystal," Serenity replied. Then she grew a devilish smirk. "Although you COULD stand to lose a few pounds."  
  
"Said the Queen of between meal snacks," Mars shot back.  
  
"Incredible," Mercury whispered. Everyone turned to look.  
  
Surrounding the buildings was a hopelessly outnumbered garrison of police, army and civil defense troops. Surrounding them were thousands, perhaps ten thousand people, a sea of humanity pressing in against the troops. Tension was thick in the mob. It was a tinderbox waiting for a spark. The troops drew their riot shields up and kept their stun rifles at the ready.  
  
"This bunch is about five seconds away from exploding," Mars reported, her hand held to her temple. The feedback of emotions was on the verge of overwhelming the psychic.  
  
"No," Serenity said, almost with a sob, shaking her head numbly. "No, this can't happen!"  
  
Then someone in the crowd spotted Serenity and the senshi hovering above them. More and more heads began to turn. Fingers pointed. The angry epitaths changed to cheers and shouts of joy until they merged into a chant.  
  
"What are they chanting?" Neptune asked.  
  
"'Sailor Moon for Empress'," Uranus repeated. She glanced at Serenity and smirked. "Kinda catchy."  
  
Serenity grimaced, clearly embarrassed by it all.   
  
Then a shot came from somewhere. One of the protesters screamed and then fell back against several others. Two metallic prongs from a government-issued stun gun hung from his chest. Instantly the protesters nearest the police line surged in a wave of anger and revenge. More stun prongs were launched into the mob, but there were too many surging forward for the police to stop.  
  
"NO!" wailed Serenity. She gestured and an invisible barrier flew up between the mob and the security force. Instantly, though, she clutched her head.  
  
"Serenity!" Endymion gasped.  
  
"Too much!" she grimaced. "Can't hold the crowd and . . ."  
  
"I've got the senshi," he said. His cloak extended so that it encompassed the others and held them aloft while he eased them all to the ground. "Do what you have to do."  
  
Unafraid for herself, Serenity lowered herself down until she was between the security line and the protesters. Everyone spread out to give her room. Her very presence seemed to calm the crowd, though the security force looked on tensely.  
  
"Haven't we all gone through enough tragedy?" Serenity asked, appealing to the crowd. "Haven't we all suffered enough?"  
  
"We don't want them in charge!" yelled a member of the mob.  
  
"This isn't the way," Serenity maintained. "Violence is never the way."  
  
"Lead us!" another shouted. "We want you, Sailor Moon!"  
  
"Sailor Moon for Empress!"  
  
"No!" Serenity said, shaking her head. "I'm not qualified! I can't lead you . . .!"  
  
"Yes you can!"  
  
Serenity stared at a young woman pushing out from the mob.  
  
"Momoko?"   
  
"Who fed us? You! Who gave us shelter? You did! Who protected us from the invaders? You did, while Hino and his corrupt Diet sat in there and did nothing! And now they want to just take over again like it's business as usual and nothing ever happened!" spat Momoko. "I know! I was in there listening to it until I couldn't stomach anymore!"  
  
"But you're part of that Diet, Momoko," Serenity said.  
  
"Not anymore. I resigned." She reached over and grasped Serenity's hands. "Sailor Moon, you are qualified to lead us - - just for the simple reason that you care and they don't! The people all need you, Sailor Moon - - not just to help them, but to guide them! To show them a better way! They're teetering into anarchy because it's all they have left! That or submitting to a system that only grows fat off of them!"  
  
"I . . ."  
  
"And you're qualified to lead us because you've got the power to take the country by force if you wanted to - - but you don't want to. They need that kind of benevolence. Please, Sailor Moon, be the leader they want. No one else can be."  
  
Serenity stared at Momoko, trying to find a way to gracefully decline. Then they heard the security force shifting. They turned and saw Secretary General Hino approaching. The crowd saw him, too, and turned surly.  
  
"STEP DOWN!" they shouted. "WE HATE YOU! YOU'VE DONE NOTHING FOR US! FALL ON YOUR SWORD!"  
  
"Insurrection, my dear?" Hino asked, staring directly at Momoko. "Treason? You work quickly. You only just resigned." He turned dismissively from her and addressed the mob. "I am asking you all to disperse, as a representative of your duly elected government."  
  
"HOLD AN ELECTION NOW AND SEE HOW YOU DO!" someone roared from the safety of the crowd.  
  
"It is within my power to suspend civil rights in times of emergency to maintain order," Hino scowled. "Please don't force me to that."  
  
Just then the old man whose stunning initiated the confrontation regained his feet. He shambled up to the edge of Serenity's barrier, staring at Hino with distress. Nobody in the crowd seemed to recognize him except Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus. Mercury recalled him as the hypothermia shock victim she had tended to just before Serenity and Endymion made the plants grow. Venus remembered Sailor Pluto talking to him while Serenity lay on death's door, telling him that his life had an unguessed value and that he should live.  
  
He pressed against the barrier Serenity had erected. The man stared at Hino with a desperate expression that instantly caught his and Serenity's attention. Others around him stopped and looked at the strange old man.  
  
"Dietman Hino!" he gasped. "Consider your next step! There comes a moment in every man's life when the wrong choice dooms him to infamy!"  
  
Hino started to turn away.  
  
"I voted for you! I supported you! I still think you're a fine man!" the old man shouted amid the surly rumblings of the mob. "But what you're doing is wrong! You can't cling to power you no longer have! To do so will only make things worse! Sailor Moon is what the people want! She has the power to take us back to what we had - - maybe beyond what we had!" His eyes began to shine with awe and reverence. "And she has the generous heart to use her power to help us all. There is no disrespect meant, Dietman Hino. You were good for us in your time. But times have changed. Please step aside before you dishonor your work and your reputation."  
  
Hino glared at the old man. The members of the mob could see he wasn't happy with what the old man had said. The security forces tensed, anticipating the order to push back the mob and reassert control. The mob anticipated the order, too, and began to surge forward.   
  
Then Serenity moved to Hino. Everyone was taken by surprise. The nearest security forces reached to stop her, but seemed to pull up, then backed away. Hino stared at Serenity, trying to judge if she meant him any harm. But the woman seemed to radiate a warm glow, a glow that Mars recognized.  
  
"Mercury," Mars whispered, her eyes glued to Serenity as were all the senshi from their observation point outside the mob. "Keep your eye on my father. Keep watching him as he talks to Serenity."  
  
"Hino-sama," Serenity said, clasping his hand in hers. Hino looked down and saw the hands, so small and delicate and perfect, so warm and reassuring. They reminded him of his mother's hands. "Please, violence and oppression is not the answer."  
  
"I-I'm sorry," he began haltingly, his feelings suddenly conflicted, "Sailor Moon. Sometimes violence in the name of restoring order and keeping the peace is a-a necessary evil."  
  
"Violence is never necessary. You don't need to be afraid. I don't want to bring down the government. I don't want to lead. I just want to help people."  
  
Shouts of "Sailor Moon for Empress" threatened to drown her out.  
  
Hino stared into Serenity's deep blue eyes for the longest time. It was almost like he was hypnotized by them and by the incredible feeling of peace and contentment he experienced the moment she grasped his hand. He always prided himself on being a logical, pragmatic man, but at the moment he was feeling neither.  
  
"It's," Mercury whispered, staring intently at him, "almost like he's becoming a different person in front of my eyes. His expression - - his entire body language is shifting from belligerence to-to passivity. Is he being influenced or controlled?" Mercury turned to Mars. "Is Serenity doing that?"  
  
"She has to be," Mars mused. "I'm not even sure she's aware she's doing it, but she's emitting some sort of mental influence on him. I've felt it from her earlier and I'm feeling it now." Mars turned to Mercury with a cynical look on her face. "Besides, how else can you explain my father turning into a human being?"  
  
"It's a noble thing to want," Hino replied finally, his eyes still locked on hers. "What you want. But from the sound of it, I think the best way for you to help might be to give in to their demands."  
  
Serenity gaped in shock. So did Momoko.  
  
"This isn't easy for me," Hino continued. "I've dedicated my life to public service. To find out that I'm a failure in the eyes of the people I've dedicated myself to serving is a bitter pill. But a wise man knows better than to fight the will of the people, particularly in a democracy. It's a battle you can't win - - a battle you shouldn't win." He looked down to gather his strength of will. "If you are willing to assume control of the government of Japan, based on a vote of the people in elections I will call for one month from now, I will step aside." He squeezed her hands. "But I will only step aside for you."  
  
"Secretary General!" Serenity gasped. "I-I don't want this!"  
  
"Not every leader has wanted to lead," Hino told her. "Some have been forced to do so because it was the best way to help." Serenity bowed her head timidly. "It's what they want. A wise man - - woman - - knows better than to fight the will of the people. And I think you'll do well. I think I begin to see a little of what my daughter sees in you."  
  
Agonizing, Serenity bit her lip.  
  
"Do it, Sailor Moon," Momoko encouraged her. "I promise I'll do everything I can to help you." And behind her were chants of "Sailor Moon for Empress".  
  
"All right," Serenity squeaked as if she were accepting a death sentence.   
  
A roar rose up from the crowd, followed by cheering and celebrating. With the aid of Endymion, the senshi made their way to her side. Secretary General Hino quietly eased away as Serenity's friends and husband surrounded her.  
  
"Well, looks like Crystal Tokyo's going to come true after all," Venus grinned. "How's it feel to be Queen, Serenity?"  
  
"I think I'm going to be sick," moaned Serenity. Jupiter giggled and hugged her while the others patted her on the back.  
  
* * * *  
  
"You're leaving?" Serenity gasped. She clutched the shoulders of Kakyuu as if she feared the woman would disappear that very second. Setsuko stared with anxiety from the safety of Endymion's arms, upset that her Usagi-mama was upset.  
  
"I have no desire to outstay my welcome, dear friend," Kakyuu smiled pleasantly.  
  
"You could never do that! Tell her Mamo - - I-I mean Endymion!"  
  
"And you have no further need of me, Usagi," Kakyuu persisted.  
  
"Yes I do!" Serenity wailed. "I couldn't have done any of this without your help! And now they want me to be their leader!"  
  
"I have merely shown you your path, Usagi. You must walk it yourself." She grasped Serenity's hands. "And you can. You have a brilliant light! Do not be afraid to let it shine!"  
  
"But I can't . . ." Serenity began. Kakyuu gently placed her fingers to still Serenity's lips.  
  
"I would like nothing better than to stay with you. But there are others who need me as well, chief among them my people of Kinmoku. You are strong enough now to walk on your own. And should you falter, you have a mate who adores you, senshi who would die for you and a populace who love you. It was more than I had when I ascended." She squeezed Serenity's hands harder. "And you have the power to reshape the universe and the humility and wisdom to use that power to the betterment of all. I could leave you in no better state."  
  
Serenity snuffled. "I'm going to miss you."  
  
"And I you. I promise to visit again one day. And Kinmoku is a beautiful planet, should you gain the desire to see it." She released Serenity's hands and turned to the Juuban Park Lake. "I leave you with a present, my dear Usagi."  
  
Bringing her hands to her chest, Kakyuu slipped into a deep state of concentration. An aura, not unlike the licks of a burning bush, surrounded her. To everyone's astonishment, the ground around them began to shake. Then thick crystalline spires pushed up through the ground and the water of the lake like blooming roses and reached up to the sky. The crystalline began to expand out towards the other spires, forming walls as they caught the light and refracted out a dazzling rainbow of color at the amazed onlookers. It continued to grow until it was six stories in the air. At that point the inner spires pushed past the outer ones, reaching up into the air for another four stories.  
  
Kakyuu exhaled and opened her eyes. Serenity and the senshi and the civilian onlookers marveled at what they saw.  
  
"It's," Mercury mumbled in awe, "the Palace of Crystal Tokyo - - the one we saw in the future. The one . . ."  
  
"The one where Serenity and Endymion lived," Endymion finished her thought. Serenity turned to him in shock. He gave her a reassuring glance and gripped her arm while Setsuko stared up in amazement.  
  
"Kakyuu, it's too much!" Serenity cried. "I can't . . .!"  
  
"It is merely a reflection of your own shining aura," Kakyuu said. "You are well deserving of it. And it contains the dimensional pocket where we consigned the Door Of Time, so you may better safeguard it, for only you and your mate have the power to truly safeguard such a wonderful and terrible thing."  
  
"I guess we don't have a choice," murmured Serenity. Kakyuu clasped her hands again.  
  
"You always have a choice, dear Usagi. The fact that you only see one acceptable alternative is the wisdom of your soul speaking. Do not fight it. Embrace your destiny."  
  
Serenity nodded and Kakyuu backed away. Sailor Star Fighter stepped up.  
  
"Good-bye," Star Fighter said - - short, to the point, and calculated to minimize revealing the pain that still lingered within her.  
  
"Thank you for everything, Seiya," Serenity smiled, clasping her hands. "Please visit me again once your heart allows you."  
  
"I promise I will," Star Fighter replied, bringing Serenity's hands up to her mouth and kissing them, "Odango." Serenity beamed.  
  
Star Fighter moved off and Kakyuu eased up next to Serenity.  
  
"Seiya will recover," Kakyuu whispered to Serenity. "She is strong enough to conquer her pain and wise enough to know the necessity of it."  
  
"Maybe she could use some help," suggested Serenity. She glanced at Kakyuu with her matchmaker face. "I remember you telling me you weren't involved with anyone."  
  
Kakyuu smiled at the boldness of Serenity's suggestion.   
  
"You only have our best interests in mind, I know," Kakyuu replied patiently, "but your assumptions are incorrect. I have deep feelings for Seiya, it is true, but it is because she is my senshi and my friend."  
  
"So? Don't limit yourself, Kakyuu."  
  
"Usagi, I could no more be attracted to her than you could be attracted to your Ami or Makoto or Minako or . . ." Kakyuu stopped suddenly and for the first time Serenity could remember ever seeing, her eyes bulged in astonishment. Kakyuu's hand came to her mouth. "Oh my!" she gasped. Then she looked at Mars. "I had never considered such a thing!"  
  
"Huh?" Serenity asked, staring blankly.  
  
"Once more your wisdom has shown me a truth I had not seen. Truly you are the wisest of us all!" She grasped Serenity's hand again. "I shall consider it, Usagi. You have my word."  
  
"I'm glad I could help," Serenity replied, still hopelessly confused.  
  
As her princess approached, Star Fighter noticed she looked at her with a new perception. It puzzled her, but she felt all would be explained in time. It usually was when it concerned Kakyuu. Kakyuu grasped Star Fighter's hand and the pair shimmered into an orange fireball, then hurled up into the sky. The senshi crowded around Serenity and Endymion and watched them fly away.  
  
"What do you suppose Princess Kakyuu meant by 'a truth I had not seen' anyway?" Jupiter posed.  
  
"I'm - - not entirely sure," Mercury answered.  
  
"Beats me," Venus replied.  
  
"Well I sure don't know!" Serenity added.  
  
"That's because you're a clueless ditz," muttered Mars, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Stop being mean to me!" fumed Serenity. Then she smiled wickedly. "That's a royal command."  
  
"To which I say 'bite me, Your Highness'," Mars replied acidly.  
  
Uranus and Neptune merely exchanged knowing smiles.  
  
* * * *  
  
Luna softly padded into the royal chambers of the King and Queen, hoping to find Serenity there. After finally ditching Setsuko, who seemed determined to pick the black cat up whether Luna wanted it or not, she scoured the castle to no avail. Serenity was nowhere else to be found and the little black cat was becoming concerned. However, Luna found Serenity curled up in the windowsill of the room's ornate arched window, staring out at the city that was in the process of evolving into Crystal Tokyo.  
  
"There you are! Honestly, Serenity, don't force me to tie a bell around your neck!" There was no response. "Serenity? Is something wrong?"  
  
"No," Serenity replied wistfully. "I guess I'm just still a little overwhelmed by all of this. My head's still swimming." She looked out over the city again. "Nothing's ever going to be the same again, is it?"  
  
"Some of it will," Luna told her. The cat effortlessly leaped up onto the sill next to Serenity. "But change is inevitable. You can't cling to the past forever. Sooner or later you have to turn and face the future or it'll sneak up on you and smack you across the bottom. And the future doesn't have to be something to be scared of. This may be the first day of a life filled with such joy and wonder than you'll scarcely be able to imagine why you were ever frightened of it."  
  
Serenity smiled. "You always know the right thing to say - - sensei."  
  
"S-Sen . . .?" stammered Luna. "Me?"  
  
"Well, who else? Luna, you've been there for me from the very beginning, mentoring me, nudging me, showing me just how much I could accomplish if I just tried," Serenity said gratefully. Then she grew a wicked smile and added "biting me on the calf when I didn't move fast enough."  
  
"It was only once," Luna scowled.  
  
"Luna, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be where I am today! Who knows what I would have become, but it wouldn't have been this. Sure, I owe a lot to my husband and my friends, but you more than anyone took a scared, clumsy little goof-up and made her a Queen. So who else should I call sensei?"  
  
"Well," Luna began, her voice thick with emotion, "once again I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. But I-I do appreciate the sentiment."  
  
"It's been a long and winding road, hasn't it?" Serenity grinned.  
  
"With more than enough bumps to suit me," Luna nodded. "But we've made it. And the best is yet to come. So if you feel it best to address me as sensei, I don't see how I can refuse - - Your Majesty."  
  
"Luna," groaned Serenity.  
  
"Oh, don't start being modest," clucked Luna.  
  
"I wish you wouldn't."  
  
"It's fully deserved."  
  
"It makes me uncomfortable."  
  
"It's a term of great respect, as befitting someone of your title and station!"  
  
"Well I don't like it! I wish you'd call me Usagi!"  
  
"You're not Usagi any longer! You're Serenity now!"  
  
"Well even Serenity's better than something pretentious and stuffy like 'Your Majesty'!" pouted Serenity.  
  
Luna glared at her. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" retorted the cat.  
  
"LUUUUUUUUNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"  
  
* * * *  
  
And they lived happily ever after.  
  
Mostly.  
  
THE END 


End file.
